By Simon Nare
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has heard how the Road Accident Fund (RAF) spent millions of rands on external lawyers to handle labour disputes involving suspended employees, an approach MPs said contributed to wasteful expenditure.
Former RAF senior human resources manager Motlhoding Letsoalo testified that the fund paid “exorbitant fees” to private attorneys for disciplinary matters that could have been handled internally at no cost.
The committee was told that over the past five years, the RAF spent R100 million or more on legal fees arising from what witnesses described as reckless suspensions and labour disputes.
Letsoalo, the suspended head of the CEO’s office, Mpho Manyasha, and suspended chief governance officer Mampe Kumalo appeared before Scopa as the inquiry entered its seventh week.
Letsoalo, who clarified that he has no relation to former CEO Collins Letsoalo, told MPs that senior managers simply refused to participate in disciplinary processes.
He recounted how 200 employees were suspended on the instruction of then-CEO Collins Letsoalo for failing to process claims within the prescribed 180 days — even though a court order had halted progress on those cases.
His office protested the suspensions, but he said, “we were told that if you don’t do it, then you must go.”
Scopa also heard that previous witnesses testified managers were instructed to suspend employees first and “find the reasons later”.
An internal email read into the record directed line managers to identify five individuals in each regional office to be suspended without charges.
Some employees were suspended despite managers’ warning there was no evidence of wrongdoing, MPs heard.
Letsoalo said the normal procedure was to suspend employees only when allegations existed and an investigation was underway.
Charges should then follow if prima facie evidence emerged.
He conceded that staff had been charged against the advice of line managers and that RAF records would show more suspensions during the former CEO’s tenure than at any other time.
“Many regional managers complained because when you suspend claims administrators you incapacitate the region, causing delays in processing claims,” he said.
Managers asked for sanctions short of suspension so staff could continue working, but these requests were rejected.
Letsoalo said regional managers were increasingly frustrated as suspensions dragged on, some dating back to 2021.
Attempts to involve unions and seek a meeting with the former CEO failed, with the CEO insisting he would not “negotiate discipline”.
Scopa chairperson Songezo Zibi questioned why RAF relied on external lawyers for internal disciplinary matters, noting this was traditionally the responsibility of line managers.
He said the fund appeared not to follow proper procedures when suspending employees and highlighted that, in most organisations, lawyers are only brought in when cases escalate to the Labour Court or CCMA.
“We were told that at the RAF, for several reasons — even for internal processes — counsel would be appointed. If RAF handled its own matters where possible, the fund would save money that could be redirected to hiring state attorneys or other critical needs,” Zibi said.
Letsoalo replied that when he joined RAF in 2019, he found a long-standing practice of using several panels of private lawyers, including for labour disputes.
These panels have since been disbanded and replaced with state attorneys.
“You are quite right. A lot of money went into those cases. Money that could have been used elsewhere. But that’s how the system was,” he said.
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