SCOPA hammers RAF finance duo on policy switch and ballooning debt

Simon Nare

Two senior Road Accident Fund (RAF) finance executives were grilled by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) this week as hearings into the RAF’s finances and governance continued.

Committee chair Songezo Zibi repeatedly pressed the pair on the fund’s financial reporting and strategy.

MPs tore into the testimony of chief investment officer Sefotle Modiba and acting chief financial officer Bernice Potgieter, accusing them of misleading the committee and dragging the RAF into financial ruin.

Committee members held Modiba and Potgieter personally liable for the financial mess that the RAF is in, and the R500 billion hole the fund is facing.

Modiba and Potgieter are the latest RAF heavyweights to appear before SCOPA to account for their roles in the ongoing enquiry into procurement and governance affairs. The enquiry has entered its third week.

MPs accused Modiba and Potgieter of disrespecting the committee and being evasive.

Committee chairman