Pretoria – The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is continuing to deliver services to road users in a tough operating climate, where legalistic hurdles have not hindered operational achievements, says Transport Minister Dipuo Peters.
Following the RAF’s 2016 Annual General Meeting (AGM), Minister Peters on Thursday said the fund remains a beacon of hope to the distressed and destitute victims and families of those affected by death and injury on the country’s roads.
According to the Department of Transport, claims expenditure grew to R32.3 billion and accounted for 94% of total expenses, with employee costs of R1.280 billion (4%) and administration costs of R618 million (2%) making up the balance.
“Over 8 414 funeral claims were paid by the RAF in the year under review and this serves as a candid reminder of how necessary it is for all of us to reduce the frequency, severity and impact of crashes in South Africa,” Minister Peters said.
She said the number of new claims grew to 188 864 and 188 759 were finalised.
“Despite the increase in new claims received, the RAF managed to increase productivity outputs by finalising more claims than before and still reducing the balance of open and unfinalised claims to 217 000 claims, with a noticeable reduction in the number of open, older claims,” Minister Peters said.
She said effective financial management saw larger sums of money managed by the team in an effective manner, with a notable improvement in internal controls and another unqualified audit opinion being obtained.
“I applaud the RAF for identifying a total of R424 million worth of fraudulent claims before payments were made and for taking swift action to ensure that 391 arrests and 231 convictions for fraud were reported.
“We cannot allow fraudsters, regardless of their professional titles, to steal from victims of car crashes,” Minister Peters said.
The legal expenditure for the organisation has been reduce from 29% of expenditure to 13.4% over five years. – SAnews.gov.za
