The Road Accident Fund has vowed to fight back strongly against lawyers, doctors, actuaries and other professionals it says are engaged in a campaign to frustrate any attempts to transform it.
RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo addressed the media on Thursday and accused the legal fraternity of playing a leading role in a conspiracy to block systematic changes that if implemented, the institution would pay claimants directly and therefore not need lawyers.
Under current law (Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996) a victim essentially has to sue the state to access a social benefit.
Letsoalo said there was absolutely no need for lawyers in the Road Accident Fund.
“If you are injured we say for example amputation from knee down is this much, we know what to pay you, you come to us we assess and pay you, it’s your social benefit. As it is currently claimants are suing the RAF and I don’t think that’s how it must be that you have to sue the state to get your social benefit, it can’t be because that would mean is going to be SASSA and others when you actually don’t need a lawyer,” said Letsoalo.
He said groups and individuals who have made a lot of wealth from the RAF have now formed pressure groups which they use to force the institution to not transform itself into a fully fledged social benefit scheme and not need to be sued.
“Every time they say RAF is an insurer we ask them where do you get that and they never say where because it is not an insurer but a social benefit scheme, RAF has never and was never intended to be an insurer,” he said.
Letsoalo named lawyers, doctors and journalists he were part of a plot to undermine attempts to correct what he described as a systematic issue and threatened to drop more names.
The CEO’s previous attempt to transform the RAF failed when parliament refused to pass an amendment bill it had sponsored which provided for direct compensation.