Phuthuma Nathi unclaimed dividends alone account for more than R270 million, owed to roughly 18 000 shareholders, some of it dating back to 2006. And Phuthuma Nathi is only one of four large empowerment schemes with money waiting.
Broad based empowerment schemes put shares into the hands of hundreds of thousands of ordinary South Africans, many of whom signed up through a workplace, a shop counter or a post office, and then moved house, changed banks or changed jobs. The shares stayed. The contact details did not.
There is no single place to check. Four of the largest schemes use four different claim routes, and only some of them appear on the JSE’s Claim It platform. Checking one and getting nothing back tells you almost nothing about the other three.
If you want the wider picture first, start with our guide to unclaimed money in South Africa.
Start with JSE Claim It
Claim It is a free search run by the JSE. It exists to reunite people with dividends that were declared but never reached them, and there is around R4.5 billion outstanding, owed to close to 375 000 shareholders, former employees and beneficiaries.
There are three ways to search:
- Online at sharehub.co.za/claimit, using your identity number
- Through the JSE Claim It WhatsApp channel
- By phone on 086 140 1105 or 010 491 5349, weekdays between 08:00 and 16:30
Claim It answers one question: whether any of the roughly nineteen companies signed up to it owes you an unpaid dividend. It will not tell you whether you own shares, how many you hold, or what they are worth. For that you go to the company or its transfer secretary.
Only some empowerment schemes have signed up. YeboYethu, Sasol Khanyisa and Sasol Inzalo are on it. Phuthuma Nathi and MTN Zakhele Futhi are not, so finding nothing on Claim It tells you nothing about those two.
Phuthuma Nathi (MultiChoice)
Phuthuma Nathi is MultiChoice South Africa’s empowerment scheme, launched in 2006, holding 25 percent of MultiChoice South Africa with more than 78 000 black shareholders. It has paid dividends every year since inception.
It also has the largest unclaimed pool of the four schemes. As at December 2025, more than R270 million remained unclaimed, owed to roughly 18 000 shareholders, with dividends going back as far as 2006. More than R125 million has already been paid out since the tracing campaign began in 2020.
How to claim. Contact the Phuthuma Nathi call centre on 086 011 6226, weekdays from 07:00 to 18:00 excluding public holidays. Unclaimed dividends are administered by the transfer secretary, Singular Systems.
You can also check the trading platform yourself:
- Log in at eese.co.za
- Open the My Account tab and select dividends
- Click the Cash tab, then select Singular dividends
- Any outstanding amount will show there
If your details are current, payment happens automatically within three to five working days. If they are not, update them under My Account and send the supporting documents to the call centre.
If you have an older bookmark for i-ex.co.za, the platform has moved. Use eese.co.za.
Why it happens. Dividends are paid automatically into the shareholder’s trading account. Where banking or contact details are out of date, the account is suspended for security until it is verified, and the money simply sits there.
YeboYethu (Vodacom)
YeboYethu is Vodacom’s empowerment scheme. More than 10 000 shareholders had unclaimed dividends totalling around R53 million as at late 2024, and the figure reported in 2022 was higher still at R61.1 million.
YeboYethu is a participating issuer on JSE Claim It, so the ShareHub route works here. The scheme has also simplified FICA verification so shareholders can complete the process and update their account details themselves rather than going through a call centre.
Sasol Khanyisa, and Sasol Inzalo
Sasol Khanyisa is Sasol’s empowerment ownership structure. It routes through JSE Claim It, and it also has its own dedicated support.
How to claim. JSE Investor Services runs an agent assisted Sasol Khanyisa call centre staffed in the official South African languages. Call 0800 800 010 from inside South Africa or 011 053 0100 from abroad, use the WhatsApp line on 010 288 3016, or email [email protected]. The ShareHub route at sharehub.co.za/claimit works as well.
Why Khanyisa payouts are small. Where Sasol South Africa declares a dividend to Sasol Khanyisa Fundco, only 2.5 percent of what Fundco receives may be declared onward to Sasol Khanyisa Public shareholders. This is known as the trickle dividend. The remaining 97.5 percent, after costs, goes to settling interest and paying down the vendor funding Sasol provided to set the scheme up. That structure is the reason Khanyisa payouts look modest next to Phuthuma Nathi, and it is not a sign that anything has gone wrong with your holding.
Note that Sasol Inzalo, the earlier Sasol empowerment scheme, is listed separately on the Claim It register. If you held Inzalo shares rather than Khanyisa shares, check under that name.
MTN Zakhele Futhi, which works differently
The scheme has wound down. MTN Zakhele Futhi was launched in 2016 and unwound in 2025. Shareholders received R20 per share in cash, with a further payment of roughly R2 to R3 per share expected afterwards. If you held MTNZF shares and never saw that money, it is sitting somewhere and it is claimable.
The route is your broker, not a call centre. MTN Zakhele Futhi is not on the Claim It register. The scheme’s board directed shareholders to contact the broker holding their shares and update their details there. The majority of shareholders were held through Singular Systems, with others through Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank. Start with Singular unless you know you used one of the others.
MTN Group shares are a separate process. MTN Group Limited runs an entirely separate unclaimed dividends process for ordinary MTN shareholders, administered by Computershare Investor Services through an MTN Unclaimed Entitlements portal, with a call centre on 0800 202 360 or 011 870 8206. More than R17 million has been distributed through that route. It has nothing to do with Zakhele Futhi. If you worked at MTN and held ordinary shares, that is the route. If you bought into the empowerment scheme, it is not.
Documents you will need
The requirements are broadly consistent across the schemes, because they all run FICA verification before releasing money:
- A valid South African identity document
- An up to date bank statement or an official bank confirmation letter
- Proof of address
- Contact details, being a telephone number and an email address
- Proof of ownership or a share certificate where you have one
Verification exists to protect you. It is the reason payment is only released after the checks clear, and it is why a claim submitted with a three year old bank statement stalls.
If the shareholder has died
Every scheme handles deceased estates through the estate rather than through the family directly. You will need:
- Letters of executorship from the Master of the High Court
- The death certificate
- Identity documents for both the beneficiary and the executor
- Banking details for both
- Proof of residence for both
- Proof of ownership
Through the JSE process specifically, a deceased estate claim requires eleven separate documents, including a photograph of the beneficiary and of the executor each holding their identity document. Claiming for any living third party requires power of attorney or letters of executorship or authority.
For Phuthuma Nathi, the family should contact the call centre directly, where agents will explain how to transfer the shares to the beneficiaries or sell them and pay the proceeds to the correct accounts.
Tax
Dividends paid to individuals are subject to dividend withholding tax at 20 percent, which is deducted before the money reaches you. The amount you receive will therefore be lower than the gross dividend figure quoted in scheme announcements.
Frequently asked questions
Are all BEE schemes on the JSE Claim It platform? No. YeboYethu, Sasol Khanyisa and Sasol Inzalo are on it. Phuthuma Nathi and MTN Zakhele Futhi are not, so finding nothing there says nothing about those two.
How do I claim Phuthuma Nathi unclaimed dividends? Call 086 011 6226 on weekdays between 07:00 and 18:00, or log in at eese.co.za and check under My Account, dividends, Cash, Singular dividends. Payment follows within three to five working days once your details are verified.
Why are my Sasol Khanyisa dividends so small? Only 2.5 percent of the dividend received by Sasol Khanyisa Fundco may be passed on to Sasol Khanyisa Public shareholders. The rest services interest and repays the vendor funding behind the scheme.
MTN Zakhele Futhi has closed. Can I still get my money? Yes. The scheme unwound in 2025 paying R20 per share in cash with a further amount afterwards. Contact the broker holding your shares, which for most shareholders is Singular Systems, with others at Rand Merchant Bank or Standard Bank.
How long does payment take? Around three to five working days once verification is complete for Phuthuma Nathi, and within five business days for claims processed through the JSE.
Do I pay tax on unclaimed dividends? Yes. Dividend withholding tax of 20 percent is deducted before payment.
