As part of a crackdown on fraudulent and corrupt activities, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) has blocked the disbursement of R65m in claims over the past three financial years.
According to the RAF, 2,031 fraudulent claims were rejected:
- 870 in 2023/2024;
- 713 in 2022/2023; and
- 448 in 2021/2022.
The RAF said these claims were not processed and finalised because of their fraudulent nature.
“Fraud costs the RAF money and negatively affects service delivery to road crash victims and their families,” said RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo.
“It is a national problem that threatens the mandate which the organisation seeks to deliver for road users. 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 immediately.”
RAF blocks the disbursement of R65m in fraudulent claims
Road Accident Fund says more than R1bn in fraudulent claims identified for rejection to safeguard the fund’s financial resources
Reporter
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As part of a crackdown on fraudulent and corrupt activities, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) has blocked the disbursement of R65m in claims over the past three financial years.
According to the RAF, 2,031 fraudulent claims were rejected:
The RAF said these claims were not processed and finalised because of their fraudulent nature.
“Fraud costs the RAF money and negatively affects service delivery to road crash victims and their families,” said RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo.
“It is a national problem that threatens the mandate which the organisation seeks to deliver for road users. 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 immediately.”
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The RAF said more than R1bn in fraudulent claims were identified for rejection to safeguard the fund’s financial resources and rightfully direct them to road crash survivors. The fund said this occurred over the past three years.
“The fund’s fraud detection strategy aims to enhance the operational plan of ensuring the RAF reduces the time it takes to pay legitimate claims to claimants genuinely affected by road crashes,” it said.
In November, Siyabulela Kima was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the East London regional court for submitting a fraudulent claim to the value of R8.3m, the RAF said.
“In his claim, Kima alleged an unknown speeding vehicle overtook a truck, left its lane and collided with his car. This caused him to lose control of his motor vehicle and crash into a nearby house. However, investigations revealed the accident resulted from Kima having an epileptic fit while driving and no second motor vehicle was involved.”
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