SCOPA told RAF issued unlawful directives, defied court orders and drove wasteful spending

Simon Nare

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has heard how the Road Accident Fund (RAF) wilfully broke the law and issued unlawful management directives that would lead to litigation, which the entity often lost, and added to wasteful expenditure.

The president of the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA), Nkosana Francois Mavundlela, led the attack against the RAF on Tuesday, when he and the society’s senior members appeared at SCOPA’s enquiry into procurement and governance affairs at the entity.

The RAF enquiry is now in its second month as the parliamentary committee probes maladministration and possible fraud, which have brought the entity to the brink of collapse.

Mavundlela told the committee that the RAF deliberately neglected to pay settlements, even in contempt of court findings, and offered no financial relief for claimants, leaving them destitute.

“The current administration of the RAF failed to recognise and respect the separation