Scopa chair Songezo Zibi says inquiry into ‘broken’ RAF could be precedent-setting

The financial affairs of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) will take centre stage on Tuesday, 7 October, as a parliamentary inquiry will seek to expose years of dysfunction, alleged corruption and mismanagement at the embattled fund.

Legally, the RAF is meant to compensate victims of road accidents, but for years, it’s been known for allegations of mismanagement and corruption.

In 2022/23, the Auditor-General gave the RAF a disclaimer audit opinion. Key issues include rising legal costs, matters related to procurement, failings to fill critical vacancies, to ensure staff had been properly vetted and rising legal costs. 

The last time the RAF received a clean audit was for the 2018/2019 financial year.

The fund has been in crisis for several years. Former CEO Collins Letsoalo, who was paid R9.4-million in 2023/24, allegedly cost the RAF R10-million for his personal security over three years. He claimed he had been targeted and sidelined due to attempts to reform the institution. 

Over the course of the next month, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) hearings will seek to get to the root of the issues at the RAF as well as provide recommendations from entities such as the RAF itself, the Department of Transport, the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Auditor-General of South Africa, and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Read more: The Road Accident Fund is due for a robust clean-up

In June this year, Scopa resolved to establish the inquiry after repeated failure to get answers from the RAF.

A statement following the resolution to establish the probe said: “This decision follows months of repeated attempts by the committee to obtain truthful, complete information from the RAF Board and executive management, to little avail. The committee cannot perform its work effectively if state entities do not provide it with complete and truthful information, with adequate context and supporting information.” 

Hearings will begin on Tuesday when the Department of Transport and the RAF make presentations to the committee. 

‘They lie, unprovoked’

According to Scopa chair Songezo Zibi, it won’t be a regular oversight inquiry, which often leads to limited results. In an interview with Daily Maverick, Zibi said the inquiry would be like no other. Parliament would push for harsh action to set a precedent for other public institutions.

“People need to explain their decisions,” he said. 

“If they can’t explain the things they did, we will have to declare them delinquents as directors. Those who are lawyers, we will have to ask [for] them to get struck off the roll. In some instances, those found to be wrong will have to pay back monies from their own pockets.” 

The hearings have been scheduled to run between 7 October and 7 November with full-day sessions planned for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The process is planned to begin with orientation from organs of state, followed by evidence from public submissions and then conclude with the RAF response to the allegations made against it. 

“I can tell you now, some of the contracts we have seen, people will need to be criminally investigated,” Zibi said.

He said the committee would not rely solely on the “thousands of documents” already collected, but would also take oral evidence from key witnesses.

Zibi said the SIU would assist with asset recovery, and all previous RAF boards dating back to 2019 would be called to account. He said the RAF’s leadership had repeatedly misled Parliament, something which they ought to take accountability for: “They lie unprovoked… It’s unbelievable.”

Read more: Parliament launches rare inquiry into Road Accident Fund

By 9 August, 89 submissions had been received by the committee, according to a presentation by a parliamentary legal adviser. These came primarily from legal practitioners, medical practitioners and current/former RAF employees.

According to the RAF inquiry terms of reference, the objective of the oversight inquiry is to “consider evidence and allegations of maladministration; financial impropriety and the misuse of public funds pursuant to the oversight mandate of the Scopa”.

The purpose will be to test allegations and evidence to “determine whether there has been any noncompliance of laws or policies applicable to [the] RAF”. 

Recommendations can also be made. According to the terms of reference, this may “include proposals on legislative amendments; the referral of any matters to appropriate law enforcement agencies for further investigation; and the implementation of control measures to address any gaps or weaknesses in the financial management systems of the RAF”.

Read more: After the Bell: Open letter to Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy 

Threats against Zibi 

Zibi has had to enlist personal bodyguards before the widely anticipated inquiry into the RAF, a state entity he says is “completely broken”.

He confirmed a few incidents where he was followed and photographed, the latest taking place at a restaurant in early October.

“It was quite uncomfortable,” he said. 

When Zibi spoke of being followed after a meeting with an informant, uMkhonto Wesizwe MP David Skosana expressed grave concern for Zibi’s safety and proposed that in future, he should not attend such meetings alone. 

Despite threats to his safety, Zibi said he was looking forward to chairing the inquiry, calling it a blueprint for holding other public institutions accountable. 

In August, Transport Minister Barbara Creecey announced a new interim board for the RAF. It is led by Kenneth Brown, a veteran of the Development Bank of South Africa and National Treasury, and Nonhlanhla Mabusela-Aikhuere, a senior investment banker, as vice-chair.

Read more: Transport shake-up: Creecy names new SAA, RAF boards in governance overhaul

The board’s mandate is to provide strategic direction and restore governance stability, addressing deficiencies such as “frequent incurrences of default judgments against the RAF”, filling critical executive vacancies and cooperating with current and future SIU investigations. DM