By Roy Cokayne.
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has decided to launch a full committee inquiry into allegations of maladministration, financial mismanagement, wasteful and reckless expenditure, and related financial misconduct at the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Approached for comment on Scopa’s decision, RAF head of corporate communications McIntosh Polela said the RAF was not part of Tuesday’s Scopa meeting and had not been formally notified of the decision. “Therefore, we cannot comment on the matter, “he said.
Scopa chair Songezo Zibi referred committee members on Tuesday to a memorandum he sent to them and highlighted that his proposal for a full inquiry follows information being withheld from the committee and inaccurate and false information being provided to it.
“Scopa cannot perform its work effectively if state entities do not provide it with complete and truthful information, with adequate context and supporting information.”
Zibi said the committee will on 1 July 2025 approve the terms of reference for the inquiry, which will take place after parliament’s August recess.
Concerns
He said issues of concern around the RAF include:
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Its failure to perform adequate background checks on senior management and executive appointments who nonetheless have access to and manage significant sums of public funds despite having a deeply concerning employment and disciplinary history involving allegations of reckless financial management decisions.
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Its refusal to disclose to the committee where RAF funds are invested and for what purpose.
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Its failure to appoint critical officials – such as a chief claims officer, head of claims operations, head of legal, chief corporate support officer and head of people management – for an unacceptably long time while decisions with a significant financial impact on the RAF are being taken or alternatively not being taken when they should.
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Its apparent failures of governance with a direct impact on the rule of law.
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Numerous whistleblower accounts relating to supply chain irregularities involving more than R1 billion while internal management controls appear to not be applied.
Zibi said the committee has, for instance, asked about the vetting of RAF officials in almost every meeting, including the vetting of specific individuals, and has received conflicting reports.
Vetted, not vetted, pretend vetted?
He said in October 2024, RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo and RAF board chair Lorraine Francois told the committee Letsoalo had been vetted but in March 2025 told the committee he had not been vetted.
Zibi also referred to the RAF’s chief investment officer, saying that his memorandum explains that the RAF is not the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), chief investment officers do long-term asset allocation, and this is not the role of the RAF.
He said Scopa is also concerned about acting chief investment officer Sefotle Modiba because of concerns about the vetting of officials and “people escaping discipline”.
This is a reference to previous allegations that Scopa was given misinformation about Modiba’s departure from the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) who was later found to have reportedly left the CoJ after facing disciplinary charges related to the withdrawal of R2.6 billion.
These funds were later linked to Regiments Capital, a firm cited during the State Capture Commission.
Modiba was earlier this month placed on precautionary suspension by the RAF board.
Zibi said Scopa had also asked Letsoalo where the RAF’s money is invested and he responded that he could not tell the committee “because there are people looking for it”.
“Instances like that make anyone ask: ‘Hang on, what is really going on here?'”
No head of legal despite high levels of legal activity …
Turning to vacancies and people in acting positions, Zibi said the RAF has not had a head of legal for two-and-a-half years and the RAF’s own letter to him on Friday stated that it last advertised for that role, and that of chief claims officer, in 2023.
“They did nothing for the rest of the second half of 2023, nothing in 2024 and nothing for the first half of 2025. That cannot be correct.
“That has got a serious impact because the RAF works with litigation, which in the end costs taxpayers money.”
Over and above that, he added, in the last three years the RAF has lost 28 legal staff.
Zibi said the RAF is not even able to show up in court to indicate that it is defending a matter and, where someone should be awarded R500 000, they may get away with R6 million.
Legal advice in AG dispute that has cost taxpayers R20m?
Zibi referred to his request for the RAF to send the committee the internal legal advice it obtained before proceeding to court in its dispute with the Auditor-General on its accounting standards.
He said the one sentence answer was: “There was no legal advice sought and therefore those memos do not exist.”
“We spent, as taxpayers, nearly R20 million on that case. I think it is the business of the committee to follow up on that.”
Said Zibi: “When you objectively look at the RAF’s organogram, the vacancies and the financial impact, you come to the conclusion that someone must account for this state of affairs.”
The withholding of information
In November 2024 Scopa asked for information about the law firms the RAF pays to handle its matters – but, said Zibi, the fund did not provide this information until the committee insisted in May 2025 that it be supplied.
And when the information was finally provided, the disclosure contained “two material omissions” in that the total amount paid to law firms was inaccurate and there were law firms that were not on the list but were paid by the RAF.
“That introduces a difficulty for the committee in that we are now not certain about the quality and truthfulness about the information that is provided to the committee,” he said.
A chance to speak under oath
Zibi said an inquiry will give everyone involved or implicated the opportunity to state their case under oath, and receive a fair hearing before the committee draws its conclusions.
Several Scopa members spoke in favour of an inquiry into the affairs of the RAF.
Scopa member Patrick Atkinson of the DA said the RAF is deeply concerned because the amounts of money involved “could actually dwarf anything else this committee has dealt with and could make SAA look like a tea party”.
Atkinson pointed out the potential liability created for the state by the RAF rejecting claims based on its illegal board minutes; these claims might meet the criteria in law and be valid.
This is a liability that is being created on the state that cannot be quantified at the moment but “could run to tens of billions of rand”.
The Association for the Protection of Road Accident Victims (APRAV) on Tuesday welcomed “with deep gratitude and immense relief” the decision taken by Scopa to initiate a full inquiry into the RAF.
“This is a massive victory – not just for APRAV, but for every victim who has suffered silently under a broken and unaccountable RAF system,” it said.