Creecy says RAF needs policy and administrative reform
The RAF has been battling massive backlogs in processing claims over the years and is technically bankrupt.
Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy. Picture: @environmentza/X
CAPE TOWN - Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says the Road Accident Fund (RAF) needs policy and administrative reform.
The RAF has been battling massive backlogs in processing claims over the years and is technically bankrupt.
In response to a parliamentary question from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Creecy says the current backlog of cases is not financially nor humanly sustainable.
Tried as it might, the sixth administration was unable to resolve the administrative and solvency issues of the RAF.
The standing committee on public accounts (SCOPA) last met with the fund’s board and administrators in February - for failing to table financial statements.
The meeting followed on-site inspections of the fund’s offices in 2023, where now-Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa described the situation as the fund “being in ICU with one foot in the grave.”
Creecy has now revealed that by last month - the backlog of claims stood at over 320,000.
At least 54% of the claims are more than four years old.
Creecy said the value of these claims could only be determined once they’re actually processed.
While measures are being taken to break the backlog - more than 196,000 claims have given rise to legal action and more than 9,000 trial dates have been set to force the fund to cough up.
The value of these claims is also still unknown.