The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has blocked the disbursement of R65 million’s worth of claims over the last three financial years as part of a crackdown on fraudulent and corrupt activities. Picture: File
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has blocked the disbursement of R65 million’s worth of claims over the last three financial years as part of a crackdown on fraudulent and corrupt activities.
A total of 2031 fraudulent claims were rejected – 870 in 2023/2024, 713 in 2022/23, and 448 in 2021/22. These are claims that were not processed and finalised because of their fraudulent nature.
The fund has announced that over the past three years, more than R1 billion in fraudulent claims were identified for rejection to safeguard the RAF’s financial resources and rightfully direct them to road crash survivors.
The fund said its fraud detection strategy aims to enhance the operational plan of ensuring that the RAF reduces the time it takes to pay legitimate claims to claimants that are genuinely impacted by road crashes.
Meanwhile this month, Siyabulela Kima was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the East London Regional Court for submitting a fraudulent claim to the value of R8.3 million.
In his claim, Kima alleged that an unknown speeding vehicle overtook a truck, left its lane, and collided with his car. This caused him to lose control of his vehicle and bump a nearby house. However, investigations revealed that the accident resulted from Kima having an epileptic attack while driving, and no second motor vehicle was involved.
RAF CEO, Collins Letsoalo, said: “Fraud costs the RAF money and negatively impacts service delivery to road crash victims and their families. It is a national problem that threatens the very mandate which the organisation seeks to deliver on for road users.”
Letsoalo added that partnerships have been forged with various law enforcement agencies and other government departments to verify employment or personal information to resolve each case.
“This plays a crucial part in the detection and deterrent of fraud. We encourage all road crash survivors who suspect fraudulent activity from any party – internally or externally – to report it with immediate effect.”
Letsoalo said the RAF continues to enhance its anti-fraud and corruption efforts throughout the organisation in order to benefit road crash victims whose lives are sometimes changed forever by motor vehicle accidents.
The fund earlier this month reported that its investigations have resulted in 44 arrests and 28 convictions since the 2021/22 financial year. Among those arrested were two doctors, three attorneys as well as a police officer and an RAF employee.
Offences included fraudulent claims to the value of R48 million, theft of R5 million in trust funds, soliciting money to fast-track a claim and completing statutory medical reports without treating a claimant.
People who suspect fraud being committed against the fund can contact it by phoning 0800 005 919 anonymously. In the event of being involved in a motor vehicle accident, the RAF contact centre can be reached on 087 820 1 111 from Monday to Friday, 07:45 to 16:00.
Pretoria News