Barbara Creecy calls to expand SIU probe as new RAF board takes charge of governance
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has laid out clear and urgent expectations for the newly appointed interim board of the Road Accident Fund (RAF),
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Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has laid out clear and urgent expectations for the newly appointed interim board of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), tasking it with restoring governance, stabilising finances, and addressing long-standing operational failures.
IOL previously reported that the Cabinet appointed the new interim board, headed by former Treasury official Kenneth Brown, to immediately address the fund’s deep-rooted governance and financial challenges.
Creecy said the interim board must act swiftly to close the governance vacuum that had crippled the RAF, emphasising the urgent need to fill critical executive vacancies and improve financial oversight.
"We stressed that the Interim Board must initiate a process of filling vacant executive positions that are critical to the mandate of the Fund. We also stressed to them that they must cooperate with current and future SIU investigations," Creecy said.
She stressed that the board is expected to tackle frequent default judgments that have increased the fund’s legal liabilities, and to fully cooperate with ongoing investigations by the SIU.
"Colleagues will recall that there is a current SIU investigation at the Road Accident Fund, and following whistleblower reports that were given to us by the Chairperson of SCOPA, we have written to both the President and the SIU to ask them to expand the scope of their investigations".
"As you know, we, as a Ministry, have already established a panel of independent experts to advise the stakeholders and the Board on the views of the stakeholders of the Road Accident Fund, on how to develop a sustainable operational and governance model at theentity, and to review the RAF's business processes and propose actionable recommendations".
The Minister also highlighted the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill, which she described as crucial to the fund’s future. The bill aims to introduce a no-fault compensation system that will reduce lengthy legal disputes and provide a clear, defined schedule of benefits to accident victims.
"The Department will continue to pursue all necessary measures to restore institutional stability and enhance the RAF's capability to fulfil its statutory obligations to the public by finalising the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill.
"And what you would understand is that central to ensuring that we have stability at the Road Accident Fund is a bill that would introduce a no-fault system and would also introduce a defined schedule of benefits".
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