Business Support Fund pays out

Ilembe Chamber of Commerce’s Business Support Fund collected R83,287.40 for the families who lost their breadwinners in the Shaka’s Head taxi and train accident in August.

A total of 16 people died when a taxi plunged down the embankment, landed on the railway line and was hit by a train on August 18.

Chamber CEO, Cobus Oelofse said this once-off initiative was driven by the scale of the accident, the number of fatalities and its impact on the Ilembe business community.

“The cash donations were distributed earlier this month and were intended to benefit dependents fairly. We considered any other financial support dependents might have benefited from, such as funeral policies, provident fund pay-outs or funds and donations specifically established or made for the purpose of supporting any of the dependents of these deceased,” said Oelofse.

For this reason, three deceased did not qualify for any funds, as they had received considerable financial benefits through employer benefit schemes.

He said the KwaDukuza and Mandeni municipalities assisted with a R10 000 donation to the families of each deceased who were residents of these areas, to cover immediate funeral costs.

The local municipalities of Maphumulo and Ndwedwe however, could not afford this expense and their deceased did not receive any financial support.

“Funds were allocated per deceased, not per family. The Dube family, for example, lost two people. With our cash donations, we tried to level the playing field.”

“The biggest amount paid out was R13,100 and the smallest amount R3,100,” said Oelofse.

The administering and auditing of the fund was conducted by C & H Accounting.

“No fee was charged for the administration of the fund, for which we are grateful. A special thank you must go to Shirley Stanley from the C & H Accounting whose contribution was very valuable.”

The distribution of funds was managed by executive committee members Dominic Collett (president), Jane Wiltshire (trustee), Andy Horton, Cobus Oelofse (CEO) and Ntombifuthi Mavundla (business support co-ordinator).

“On behalf of the dependents as well as the fund, we would like to say thank you to the community for their support, especially to the Zimbali residents, the Zimbali Estate Management Association and the KwaDukuza municipality staff.”

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