The revelations coming out of parliamentary hearings into the Road Accident Fund are yet another stark warning that an institution established to help ordinary people after life‑changing accidents is collapsing from within.
From the closure of the 200‑bed Sunshine Hospital in Benoni to the mounting debt and governance failures at the RAF under former CEO Collins Letsoalo, the collapse is not abstract. It is real, immediate and devastating for communities, for victims, for the healthcare system and for whatever confidence is left in government.
In the hearings before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), the RAF has been forced to acknowledge the scale of its liabilities.
Sunshine Hospital, which has had an agreement with the RAF since 2007 to treat road accident victims, is owed more than R300m. Because the fund failed to settle adjudicated claims the hospital was forced to permanently close in June , after an earlier closure in April 2023.
Its owner, Kenneth Ford, told Scopa the RAF had more than 6,285 summonses against it, 647 judgments handed down ― none satisfied. Interest on the outstanding debt is over R23m, he said.
The governance meltdown at the RAF has had very real consequences. In this specific case, Sunshine Hospital’s closure removed a trauma facility that communities relied on. It forced public hospitals ― already under pressure ― to absorb more casualties. It also undermined confidence in private‑public cooperation and showed that the RAF simply cannot meet its obligations.
The fund’s decay has tangible consequences for ordinary people. A person injured ― at times debilitatingly so ― in a car crash may face months or even years of delay in getting any compensation.
The Special Investigating Unit has placed the blame in part on Letsoalo. He is accused of bypassing the board, interfering in procurement, authorising re‑evaluation of bids already assessed, entering into an irregular lease of some R66m for the fund’s Johannesburg office and disregarding governance processes.
Letsoalo’s contract ended in August while he was on suspension, yet his legacy lives on in the fund’s insolvency, the improper procurements, the duplicate payments to law firms and more. In July, transport minister Barbara Creecy dissolved the board on the basis that it failed in its legal mandate, allowed frequent default judgments and neglected to fill key executive positions. In short, the RAF has been left rudderless, without accountability or proper oversight.
The fund’s decay has tangible consequences for ordinary people. A person injured ― at times debilitatingly so ― in a car crash may face months or even years of delay in getting any compensation.
The Scopa inquiry is looking into allegations of fraud, corruption, maladministration and financial mismanagement at the fund. We hope it fully exposes the rot within the RAF and properly illustrates how Letsoalo’s era of unchecked ego brought it to its knees. And those who played a part must be held fully accountable.
It is vital that the fund is properly restructured, streamlined and held to strict public oversight and transparency, so that it meets its fundamental mandate ― and never again fall victim to the folly of an incompetent autocrat.
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