Former RAF board slams Minister Barbara Creecy for 'hostile interference'

Former Road Accident Fund (RAF) chairpersons have characterised Transport Minister Barbara Creecy as interfering and having created a hostile working relationship as the executive authority.

They told Parliament that Creecy allegedly never met with the board after taking office in June 2024 and before disbanding the structure in July 2025.

Testifying before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on Wednesday, former board members said they never enjoyed the same working relationship with Creecy as they did with her predecessors.

The committee is in the final stages of its probe into maladministration at the RAF.

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Former RAF chairperson Zanele Francois said rather than meet with the board, Creecy sent them a litany of instruction letters instead.

"That brought and created a hostile environment that led to an unsettled environment for us as the board, and we were not able to execute our mandate independently and objectively as we are supposed to," Francois said.

She was backed by her former deputy chairperson, Nomonde Mabuya-Moloele, who said she also found it strange that Creecy did not plan to meet with the RAF while she was meeting with other entities that fall under the Department of Transport.

"What happened is we get a litany of letters. More than 12 or 15 letters, instructing us, interfering in our decision-making process. So that was a hostile environment," Mabuya-Moloele said.

Creecy’s deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, who was delegated by the minister to deal with the RAF, was also not spared by Francois’ criticism.

"Even the deputy minister, the way he would engage with the board, he used very hostile language, which was very destabilising for us as a board," she said.

Another former board member, Moses Nyama, said after having served since 2018, he planned to resign before the board was disbanded because he felt it was not receiving the necessary support from Creecy.

Creecy is expected to appear before the inquiry next week.