20 March 2019 – BY ADRIAAN KRUGER ON MONEYWEB.CO.ZA Victims could be left destitute, despite the high fuel levy we pay for accident insurance. Both the chairman and the chief executive officer of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) admitted in the latest annual report that the fund is insolvent, with liabilities exceeding assets by more than R206 billion at the end of March 2018. The annual report states that the fund “has been insolvent since 1981”. The total liabilities with regards to claims agreed to during the reporting period, but not paid at the end of the year, amounted to R38.3 billion. Outstanding claims liabilities – claims settled in previous years that still need to be paid – exceed R177 billion. The auditor-general’s report to the financial statements concludes that there is “significant doubt on the public entity’s ability to continue as a going concern”. RAF chairman Peter Mathebula says

5 March 2019 – BY JASON SNYMAN ON COMPAREGURU.CO.ZA Despite universal opposition to the Road Accident Benefit Scheme – which has been labelled as controversial, criminal, obscene, abhorrent, unconstitutional and appalling – the South African government is pushing to get this monstrous scheme passed into law. This article is not for the faint hearted. The Road Accident Benefit Scheme – which has been variously labelled as controversial, criminal, obscene, abhorrent, unconstitutional and appalling – has been reintroduced to Parliament. Because, of course it has. Despite near-universal opposition to the bill – that could see drunk drivers rewarded for causing accidents – the ANC government has forgone all logic and rational thinking in favour of forging ahead, regardless. Because, of course it has. The bill, previously put to vote before the National Assembly in December of last year, was postponed, pending an independent review, after opposition parties (IFP, DA, EFF, UDM,

Business Tech: Staff Writer 25 February 2019   The controversial Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill (RABS) has been reintroduced to Parliament – despite near-universal opposition to a clause in the bill that could reward drunk drivers who cause accidents on South Africa’s roads. The bill was previously introduced to the National Assembly in December 2018, but failed to pass after all opposition parties staged a walkout, leaving the ANC unable to push it through. While the portfolio committee on transport adopted the bill, and the NA majority agreed to debate it, after discussion in the house, the IFP, DA, EFF, UDM, COPE, ACDP and FF+ all rejected the bill, leaving the ANC as its only proponents. The main sticking point with the bill is that it provides for a system of ‘no-fault compensation’ for road accident victims – which could in theory allow for drunk drivers and other negligent drivers

20 February 2019 – BY PAM SAXBY OBO POLICYWATCH A ‘B’ version of the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill was reinstated on Tuesday and is now back on the National Assembly order paper for a second reading debate – probably next week, reports Pam Saxby for Legalbrief. It featured in a long list of items identified by ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu for ‘revival’, not having been considered during the last sitting of the House for 2018. Because amendments to the Bill tabled by the DA’s Chris Hunsinger were ‘negatived’ at the sitting, opposition parties walked out – rendering the House inquorate and unable to vote on its second reading. The Bill lapsed as a result. The DA has since approached the courts to challenge a decision to exclude the ‘dissenting views’ of opposition parties from a National Assembly Transport Committee report on the Bill. Describing the ‘attitude’ of ANC members of the committee as ‘roughshod’, a media statement announcing the move last week

15 February 2019 – ISSUED BY MANNY DE FREITAS – DA SHADOW MINISTER OF TRANSPORT The Democratic Alliance has approached the courts Yesterday to fight the ANC’s roughshod attitude towards opposition parties.  During the preparation of the Transport Portfolio Committee report on the Road Accident Benefit Scheme (RABS) Bill, opposition parties requested that their dissenting views on this bill be recorded.   The DA tabled a minority report at 8 November 2018 Portfolio Committee Meeting. According to the rules of Parliament, (National Assembly rule 166 and 288) opposition parties may table minority reports in such instances. Despite these unambiguous rules which permits minority views to be tabled officially, the ANC refused a minority report.  Instead, it chose to include their own interpretation of a minority report. The DA has therefore approached the court to fight for the right of all opposition parties. In its minority report, the DA objected to the

28 January 2019 – BY JACQUES COETZEE The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is already in a shambles. But the proposed alternative, the Road Accident Benefit Scheme (Rabs) could make it worse, especially because it would also allow drivers at fault in an accident to lodge claims. This will have serious consequences. The Road Accident Fund’s net deficit could expand from the R206.3-billion recorded in the 2017-2018 financial year to at least R225-billion should the planned changes go ahead. If drivers at fault are to be included in claims, the implementation of Rabs is estimated to cause the expenditure of loss of support claims to jump from R3-billion to R21.6-billion, according to Professor Hennie Klopper from the University of South Africa, who heads of non-profit group Protection of Road Accident Victims (Aprav). He says that this alone equates to an increase of at least R1 a litre on the fuel levy.

19 January 2019 – BY THE CITIZEN Common sense tells you, instinctively, that someone who causes a negative outcome because of his or her reckless action should be held accountable. This country can surprise even the most cynical with the level of absurdity it can produce … and the Road Accident Benefits Scheme Bill is another good example of that. The proposed legislation, which is before parliament and which will replace the current Road Accident Fund (RAF), introduces a radical “no fault” system for compensating road crash victims. This overturns the current process, which pays out those who have been seriously injured in accidents they were not fully responsible for causing. In future, drunken and reckless drivers who are responsible for crashes in which there are serious injuries and in which they are also hurt, will be entitled to compensation. As a consequence, says lawyer Kirstie Haslam, there will be