Road Accident Fund steps up efforts to provide a sustainable safety net
Bill aimed at replacing fault-based system as agency is inadequately funded, CEO says
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is ramping up efforts to transform the agency from an insolvent fund into what it calls a sustainable social-security safety net for people affected by motor-vehicle accidents. The RAF, which is funded entirely from a fuel levy and interest earned, has accumulated a R206.3bn net deficit. It has been insolvent since 1981. The fund pays compensation to accident victims and their dependants who can prove negligence or fault on the part of other drivers involved. Acting CEO Lindelwa Jabavu said on Tuesday that a bill before parliament would replace the current fault-based fund with a no-fault road accident benefit scheme. The main reasons for change were that the agency was inadequately funded and it was “unreasonable, inequitable, unaffordable and unsustainable”, said Jabavu. The fund was on average about R9bn in arrears monthly in claims that the agency had already approved, she said. “We can’t continue like this.” Revenue for the year to end-March rose to...
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