SCOPA inquiry lays bare RAF failures as victims’ group demands urgent reform

Parliamentary oversight has exposed years of governance failures, chronic underfunding and operational dysfunction at the Road Accident Fund (RAF), leaving thousands of accident victims waiting years for compensation, the Association for the Protection of Road Accident Victims (APRAV) said on Thursday.

Preliminary SCOPA findings presented to stakeholders

APRAV chairperson Ngoako Mohlaloga told a National Press Club briefing that the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ (SCOPA) months-long inquiry had brought together evidence showing an institution struggling to fulfil its constitutional mandate while billions of rand continue flowing into the fund through the fuel levy. SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi shared preliminary findings during a recent stakeholder engagement, Mohlaloga said.

The inquiry, launched last year, is expected to result in a report to the National Assembly containing recommendations to overhaul RAF governance, improve claim processing, reduce wasteful expenditure and review the fund’s long-term funding model.

Failures beyond corruption

Mohlaloga said the inquiry showed that corruption is only one part of the RAF’s problems. “Public money is not lost only through corruption. It is also lost when an institution is badly managed or governed, when poor personnel decisions are allowed to stand, when claims are not processed on time, when avoidable matters are taken to court,” he said.

He pointed to specific operational failings raised in the inquiry: the now-defunct RAF 1 claim form, which the Supreme Court of Appeal declared unlawful after finding the form required expensive medical reports before claims could be considered, effectively shutting out hundreds of thousands of potential claimants.

“The Constitution requires government to expand access to its services, not to move those services further away from the people who need them the most,”

Legal and management dysfunction

Evidence presented to Parliament showed RAF legal teams repeatedly failed to appear in court, leading to postponed cases, escalating legal costs and longer delays for victims, Mohlaloga said. “The victim is waiting and waiting and waiting, and the legal bill grows. The RAF and ultimately the taxpayer lose money through that kind of mismanagement.”

APRAV also highlighted institutional instability, with numerous senior management posts remaining vacant or filled by acting officials. “It is our view that we cannot demand high performance from an institution that has lost people, stability and internal capacity,” Mohlaloga said, urging Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to expedite the appointment of a permanent chief executive officer.

Calls for immediate action

APRAV vice-chairperson Peter de Bruyn said the inquiry had put the evidence on the record and that government could no longer delay implementing reforms. “The evidence is now on the record. Nothing is hidden. The human and financial cost has been laid bare,” he said. “The time for talk, minister and deputy minister, has come and gone. It’s time to act.”

De Bruyn said APRAV had been presenting solutions to government since 2014 and argued that meaningful action only gained momentum after Parliament launched its inquiry. “The solutions are not complicated. Repair the harm done. Relieve the current crisis for the sake of the public and the suffering claimants. Rebuild the RAF for the future and restore it to the centre of excellence it once was,” he said.

He stressed the urgency of fixing the compensation system and cited his own assessment on road fatalities: “It is mind-boggling. Fifty-five people die on South African roads every single day, with hundreds, if not thousands, more injured.” He also said, attributed to his assessment, “It is safer to drive in Iraq than it is in South Africa. The country and the people cannot wait anymore.”

Next steps in Parliament

Mohlaloga said SCOPA was expected to complete its report in the coming weeks, after which affected parties would be invited to make representations. The report will then be tabled in the National Assembly for debate and adoption, he said.

De Bruyn praised SCOPA’s oversight work but warned that exposing problems would count for little without implementation. “SCOPA investigates and looks back. The Portfolio Committee on Transport now needs to look forward and take up what needs to change now,” he said.