The short answer
Go to the HR department of the mine and ask to speak to senior management about your issue. If they won't, you could take legal action..
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I am writing to request assistance regarding an issue with the Mineworkers Provident Fund. I was a member of the fund from 2010 until 2020, while employed by a mining company. During this time, I was involved in a serious car accident while traveling to work with two colleagues. Sadly, our driver passed away at the scene, and the remaining two of us were hospitalised. I was admitted for 15 days.
In early 2020, I was declared medically incapacitated but, because there were delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, I officially left the company in late 2020. On my last day, an HR administrator assisted me in claiming my provident fund benefits.
A few days later, the payment reflected in my bank account. I used the funds to continue building my house, as I had begun construction before my accident.
Later, when I visited SARS to claim a small tax refund, I was informed that I owed income tax of over R7,000 because my provident fund payout had not been taxed. I was shocked, as I had no way of knowing that the payment had been made without tax deductions.
The Mineworkers Provident Fund is responsible for administering and taxing these payments, and the error was not mine. Unfortunately, the debt has since increased to approximately R11,300 due to accumulating interest. SARS continues to hold me liable for this amount.
I contacted the Mineworkers Provident Fund via email in August 2025 to appeal for assistance, explaining that I am unemployed and unable to pay the debt. I received only an automated response acknowledging my message, but I have not received any further feedback or resolution.
What can I do to fix this?
The long answer
It is certainly the Mineworkers Provident Fund’s responsibility to deduct the tax before paying out the provident fund. According to Webber Wentzel, the provident fund needs to submit an application to SARS in order to receive a directive on the amount of PAYE tax that needs to be deducted from the fund and sent to SARS. After that, SARS will issue an IT88L directive for the amount owed to SARS, which may include past-due income tax obligations or penalties.
According to 10X, before issuing your tax clearance certificate, SARS does require you to file any unfiled returns and make long-overdue payments.
The Mineworkers Provident Fund obviously failed to apply to SARS for a tax directive, as they are legally required to apply the tax calculation and deduct the tax before paying out the provident fund. As you say, this problem was not of your making.
So what can you do? Perhaps the first step should be to go to the HR department at Harmony Gold where you were assisted in 2020 to apply for your provident fund payout. Tell them you sent an email in August 2025 and received an automated reply saying your email was receiving attention, but you have heard nothing further, while the SARS debt is mounting. Ask to speak to senior management and take careful note of whom you speak to and what they say.
If they do not undertake to resolve it immediately, you could ask Legal Aid to assist you. It is a means-tested organisation that must assist people who can’t afford a lawyer. Legal Aid could contact the Mineworkers Provident Fund on your behalf. For Legal Aid’s benefit, these are the contact details of the Mineworkers Provident Fund:
Tel: 010 100 3000
Website: mwpf.co.za
E-mail: [email protected]
These are Legal Aid’s contact details:
Tel: 0800 110 110 (Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm)
Please call me: 079 835 7179
Email: [email protected]
Legal Aid could also help you to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator (OPFA), or you could lodge a complaint with the OPFA yourself.
The OPFA receives complaints lodged against registered pension and retirement funds. They investigate the complaint and if the complaint is upheld, the Adjudicator issues a determination that must be obeyed by the fund. This determination is legally binding.
The OPFA’s services are free. You must use an official complaint form. OPFA says that you can lodge a complaint in one of the following ways:
Visit their offices at 4th Floor, Block A, Riverwalk Office Park, 41 Matroosberg Road, Ashlea Gardens, Pretoria
Submit your complaint online: https://www.pfa.org.za/submit-a-complaint/
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
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Answered on Oct. 24, 2025, 4:06 p.m.
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