The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has prevented the disbursement of R65 million in claims over the past three financial years as part of its efforts to combat fraud and corruption. A total of 2,031 fraudulent claims were blocked during this period, with 870 rejected in the 2023/24 financial year, 713 in 2022/23, and 448 in 2021/22. Due to their fraudulent nature, these claims were halted before being processed and finalised.
According RAF to the report, over R1 billion in fraudulent claims were identified for rejection to safeguard the Fund’s financial resources and rightfully direct them to road crash survivors. This also occurred over the past three years.
“The Fund’s fraud detection strategy aims to enhance the operational plan of ensuring that the RAF reduces the time it takes to pay legitimate claims to claimants who are genuinely impacted by road crashes,”
In a statement by the Road Accident Fund , This month, Siyabulela Kima was sentenced to five (5) years imprisonment by the East London Regional Court for submitting a fraudulent claim to the value of R8 300 000.00.
“In his claim, Kima alleged that 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 bump a nearby house. However, investigations revealed that the accident resulted from Kima having an epileptic attack while driving, and no second motor vehicle was involved,”
RAF Chief Executive Office, Collins Letsoalo, said: “Fraud costs the RAF money and negatively impacts service delivery to road crash victims and their families.
“It is a national problem that threatens the very mandate which the organisation seeks to deliver on 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 with immediate effect.” added Letsoalo.
“The RAF continues to enhance its anti-fraud and corruption efforts throughout the organisation to benefit road crash victims whose lives are sometimes changed forever by motor vehicle accidents.”
