Investigation reveals five-point plan to undermine Road Accident Fund's integrity

The Association for the Protection of Road Accident Victims (APRAV) is calling on the Minister of Transport to take immediate corrective action following mounting evidence that a deliberate five-point plan was implemented inside the Road Accident Fund to misrepresent its financial health and obstruct legitimate claims.

According to APRAV Deputy Chair, Ngoako Mohlaloga, the strategy created “an optical illusion of solvency while hollowing out the Fund from within". The result, he says, is a system that has “left victims and taxpayers at a loss, while money was channeled through tenders and contracts that did nothing to improve the Fund’s ability to deliver justice”.

APRAV’s findings—supported by affidavit evidence from former RAF actuarial manager Itayi Charakupa—point to five coordinated measures that dismantled the Fund’s operational and financial integrity. This, it says, includes the non-renewal of panel attorneys' contracts.

By terminating its network of external legal panels, the RAF crippled its ability to defend and settle claims. Thousands of cases remain unresolved, creating backlogs that stretch for years. Victims seeking justice are left in limbo, often facing financial hardship as they await resolution, it says.

Skilled legal and administrative staff were replaced by short-term contract workers. This shift has resulted in a significant loss of institutional knowledge, eroded accountability, and collapsed claim processing times. According to APRAV, the lack of experienced personnel has increasingly complicated the claims process for claimants.

Charakupa’s affidavit reveals how the RAF used an unauthorised accounting standard designed for welfare schemes to “erase billions in unpaid obligations” from its balance sheet. Under the previous IFRS 4 framework, liabilities stood at roughly R356 billion; after the IPSAS 42 switch, they appeared as R29 billion.

The Auditor-General refused to sign off the accounts, citing “materially misstated” figures, raising serious concerns about the Fund's transparency. The revised claim form, meanwhile, required an onerous list of supporting documents—medical-legal reports, Sars returns, SASSA letters, and more. Courts later ruled that these requirements made it “near-impossible” for victims to lodge claims, effectively shutting many out of the system, APRAV said.

The organisation also pointed to a notice formalising the new claim process and empowering the RAF to reject incomplete submissions outright, effectively locking many legitimate claimants out of the system. The implications of this decision have been devastating for countless victims who rely on the Fund for compensation, APRAV says.

It states that the combined effect of these decisions has been devastating. Victims who once received settlements now wait years. Legal and medical professionals who sustain the system remain unpaid, while families reliant on compensation fall deeper into poverty.

Parliament and the public, meanwhile, were assured that the Fund had achieved stability—when, in truth, its financial statements had been altered to mask the depth of its liabilities. “The switch to IPSAS 42 and the administrative chokeholds that followed were not administrative errors. They formed part of a deliberate pattern to conceal insolvency and manage optics rather than outcomes. It is a betrayal of both public trust and statutory duty,” Mohlaloga said.

APRAV has welcomed the RAF Board’s recent decision to suspend individuals aligned with the architects of this five-point plan, but warns that partial action is insufficient.

“Accountability must come from the top. The Minister must urgently withdraw IPSAS 42, repeal Board Notice 271 of 2022, and restore the previous lawful RAF 1 claim process. Only then can we begin rebuilding capacity, reinstating skilled professionals, and restoring confidence in the Fund,” Mohlaloga said.

APRAV, meanwhile, commended the thoroughness of the ongoing parliamentary inquiry and said this is the first time it has seen such commitment to uncovering the truth.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za