Last week, Parliament approved the winding down of the Daibo Share Trust. This will see former Telkom employees - who should benefit from the scheme - traced and awarded a total of R68.8 million in unclaimed funds.
The Diabo Share Trust was formed to facilitate the transfer of benefits to Telkom employees during the listing of the company in February 2003.
The scheme allowed the fixed-line incumbent's employees, as at March 2003, to acquire ordinary Telkom shares from the government at R33.81 per share.
Former employees, employed by Telkom on or after 1 October 1999, who terminated their employment because of retirement, retrenchment, outsourcing or death, also qualify to take part in the scheme.
Last week, Parliament was told that a total of 12 477 beneficiaries have not yet submitted their claims.
A service provider will be appointed to trace these beneficiaries and a joint steering committee, consisting of National Treasury and the Department of Communications, will be established to manage the winding down of the trust.
According to a Telkom annual and transactional report, employees who resigned voluntarily, or were dismissed on grounds of misconduct, fraud or other grounds justifying summary dismissal, were excluded from participation in the Diabo scheme.
Telkom employees who joined the company after 4 March 2003 were also excluded from the scheme.
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