Road Accident Fund Clarifies Double Payments Not Corruption But Process Gaps

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has clarified that double payments in claims are not typically linked to corruption, but rather to claimants taking multiple routes to recover their compensation.

This revelation came during the first day of a parliamentary inquiry into the RAF’s governance practices. The inquiry, led by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), is probing the fund’s operational inefficiencies and payment delays.

RAF officials explained that duplicate payments often happen when a claimant’s legal representatives attach the fund’s bank account while the same payment is already being processed through the RAF’s internal system.

Bank Attachments Trigger Double Payments

Acting regional manager Sibongile Mgwali told MPs that the issue frequently arises when claimants or their lawyers do not wait for the RAF to finalise payment.

“So instead of waiting until RAF does the payment, they will go in and attach RAF’s bank account, meaning they will submit a rate, and the bank will have no option but to pay the amount, whilst the same amount is already requested on the system,” said Mgwali.

This situation, she explained, results in the RAF making duplicate payments unintentionally — one through its system and another through a bank attachment order.

Lawyers Circumvent Delays, RAF Tightens Controls

Acting chief claims officer Tshepo Moatshe added that some legal practitioners exploit the fund’s 180-day payment window to secure court-ordered payments.

“We’ve got instances and examples of practitioners who will bring court orders when they are over 180 days, with a writ,” Moatshe told MPs.

He noted that the RAF has now implemented tighter controls to ensure that court orders are properly monitored and executed on time, preventing unnecessary duplication of payments.

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Meanwhile, MPs also heard concerns about attempts by foreign nationals without legal status in South Africa trying to access compensation through the RAF system.

The inquiry will continue to examine why the fund struggles to meet its payment deadlines and whether stronger governance measures could reduce financial inefficiencies.

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