RAF In the News

Written By Lindsey Schutters  | Published on 3 June 2026 | Daily Maverick The debate was inconclusive, but the vote affirmed that the Standing Committee on Public Accounts will lay criminal charges against subpoena-dodging former Road Accident Fund CEO Collins Letsoalo. We need to go back to November last year to trace the original source of the debate among the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) members when deciding whether to lay criminal charges against former Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo. Scopa summoned Letsoalo to answer questions about his management decisions on 25 and 26 November 2025, but on the first day, he did not appear. Instead, his legal team, Sithi & Thabela Attorneys, issued a formal demand to the Scopa chairperson (Songezo Zibi) to “cease and desist from [the] unlawful ‘oversight inquiry’”. They argued that Scopa’s mandate was restricted to financial accountability, while operational and governance oversight of the RAF fell

Written By Kabous Le Roux  | Published on 9 June 2026 | EWN South Africans could face new vehicle licence fees as government reviews RAF funding. Experts warn the fund is under severe strain, with hundreds of billions in outstanding claims. South African motorists could face additional costs when renewing their vehicle licence discs as the government explores new ways to fund the embattled Road Accident Fund (RAF). The possibility emerged after Transport Minister Barbara Creecy reportedly indicated that her department was considering an overhaul of how the RAF is financed. The proposal comes as the fund faces mounting financial pressure, longstanding concerns about governance and questions over its long-term sustainability. The issue has also been linked to changing vehicle trends, with more electric vehicles on South African roads reducing fuel sales. The RAF is currently funded through a levy on petrol and diesel, meaning EV charging does not contribute

Written By Roy Cokayne  | Published on 26 May 2026 | Moneyweb The Department of Transport is researching a vehicle owner contributory scheme to fund the RAF, according to Minister Barbara Creecy. Motorists in future might have to pay a separate amount to fund the Road Accident Fund (RAF) when they first buy and annually renew their vehicle licence disc. Read: DoT considering private and public contributions to fund the RAF Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy confirmed during an exclusive interview with Moneyweb on Monday that the Department of Transport (DoT) believes it needs to introduce a vehicle owner contributory scheme – apart from introducing the no-fault system and a standard schedule of benefits. Creecy said the DoT has two concerns regarding RAF funding. She said the first is the increased uptake of electric vehicles by consumers, as the current RAF funding model is a levy on petrol prices. Her comments

Written By Jeanette Chabalala | Published on 4 May 2026 | Sowetan The cash-strapped Road Accident Fund (RAF) is facing a daunting task of re-rolling hundreds of claims it rejected from four years ago based on information claimants provided on the RAF1 form, which has now been declared unlawful. This will be in addition to the 430,000 claims backlog the RAF is grappling with. Claimants who previously used the RAF1 form and were rejected for noncompliance had been given until September 30 to resubmit their claims. The resubmissions stand to give the RAF a financial headache that could run into billions, as it is estimated that 600,000 claims were rejected as a result of the RAF claim form, which it unlawfully introduced in 2022. The Supreme Court of Appeal last week declared the form unlawful and ordered the RAF to revert to the older form it introduced in 2008. The

Written By Mthobisi Nozulela | Published on 30 April 2026 |   Moonstone Information Refinery The Road Accident Fund (RAF) could face a “massive influx of claims” – liabilities it has not recognised and may not be able to meet – if its controversial RAF 1 claim form is ultimately set aside. That warning appears in a section of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ draft RAF oversight inquiry report, which was discussed at the committee’s meeting on 24 April. The draft adds that the impact could have “severe financial consequences on the business of the RAF… and society as a whole”. From hearings to deliberations SCOPA’s inquiry into the RAF – initiated after concerns about governance failures, misleading information provided to Parliament, and the Fund’s long-standing financial instability – concluded its public hearing phase in early 2026 after months of testimony from the RAF, government departments, regulators, and industry bodies.

Written By Roy Cokayne | Published on 4 May 2026 | MoneyWeb It appears increasingly likely the Road Accident Fund (RAF) will require a significant government bailout. This follows the RAF receiving another bloody nose from the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which on Thursday dismissed, with costs, its appeal against a high court judgment that declared a Board Notice and its RAF1 Form unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. Read: RAF counter application over ‘blank cheque’ claims dismissed Mandatory mediation of RAF cases ‘a failure’ RAF gets fourth CEO in seven months It has been estimated the RAF has about R500 billion in unqualified contingencies, a portion of which is attributable to the fund rejecting claims that complied with the RAF Act but did not comply with the Board Notice and RAF1 Form. Attempts at the weekend to obtain comment from RAF board chair Kenneth Brown and Songezo Zibi, chair of