New RAF system vulnerable to fraud, Scopa committee told

Simon Nare

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has heard that the new Road Accident Fund (RAF) system is vulnerable to inflated and potentially fraudulent claims, driving up the total claim bill, even for cases that have been partially processed or finalised.

The committee continued hearing evidence in its enquiry into the entity’s procurement and governance affairs on Wednesday, with former Chief Financial Officer Victor Songelwa and former Senior Manager of the Actuarial and Reinsurance Unit, Itayi Walter Charakupa, in the hot seat.

Songelwa and Charakupa, both dismissed, concurred in their testimonies and in affidavits submitted to the committee that the new system, introduced with the arrival of since suspended CEO Collins Letsoalo, left the fund vulnerable to defrauding claimants after dismantling the internal panel of lawyers, who in the previous system would defend claims.

As a result, the fund ended up paying more money for fewer claims. The