The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mr Donald Selamolela, has said that, contrary to public opinion, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is on road to recovery.
“We are satisfied that indeed there is work happening to improve governance and stabilise operation of RAF. The committee accepts that RAF is a challenged entity of government, besieged by historical factors that unnecessarily frustrated the work of the entity,” the Chairperson noted.
“Concerns about organisational structure remain, and if not attended to with speed, they will frustrate the progress that is being realised. The negativity around how the entity is viewed by the public should cease, and our focus should be to service the claimants,” he said.
The RAF board appeared before the committee on Tuesday, where the committee continued with engagements that started in November 2025. The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa, accompanied RAF and told the committee that reforming the RAF remains a priority and that direct claims are an immediate area of attention. Mr Hlengwa likened the work of reforming RAF to fixing an aeroplane while airborne.
Mr Selamolela said despite a Standing Committee on Public Accounts-led inquiry into the issues of RAF, the committee remained hopeful that significant strides are being made to stabilise the entity. “We are happy that you are summoning all capacities from the departments in marketing the work you are doing. Kindly speed up your game in whatever you are doing, and we share the view that RAF is an important service delivery mechanism that touches interrupted lives of people,” he said.
He also called on the department to move with speed to review the RAF legislation with the intention of closing all loopholes.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
