And the suspensions at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) just keep on coming.
On the same day that the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) heard that 35 RAF employees have been on paid suspension for up to four years – costing about R48 million – the fund’s new board announced that four senior executives, including the acting chief executive and chief financial officer, had been placed on precautionary suspension.
The inquiry into the RAF forms part of SCOPA’s broader oversight process into governance, financial management, and the handling of litigation at the Fund, which has been plagued by missed court appearances, default judgments, and ballooning liabilities.
In a statement on 7 November, the newly appointed board said the suspensions were imposed “to allow for an independent and unhindered investigation into certain administrative and governance matters within the organisation”.
“These precautionary measures do not in any way constitute a finding of wrongdoing against the affected officials,” the board said. “They are intended to ensure the integrity and transparency of the investigative process.”
The board added that the decision was taken in the best interests of the organisation, to protect public trust and to uphold ethical standards in managing public funds.
According to City Press, those affected include acting CEO Phathutshedzo Lukhwareni, CFO Bernice Potgieter, and chief governance officer Mampe Kumalo. The name of the head of the CEO’s office, who was also suspended, has not been publicly confirmed.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy dissolved the previous RAF board in July, citing ongoing governance and operational failures that had “significantly undermined” the Fund’s ability to meet its mandate. A new interim board was appointed in August for six months, or until a permanent board is in place.
Testimony sheds light on internal dysfunction
During SCOPA’s hearing on 7 November, former RAF senior manager Ian Barriel told MPs that the 35 suspended employees faced various misconduct charges, many dating back several years, and that legal and compliance processes have been slow or irregular.
Barriel’s detailed account of the fund’s internal workings, reported by Daily Maverick, painted a picture of a breakdown in basic governance.
He said there was no proper transition when the RAF cancelled its panel of external attorneys, because recruitment for in-house legal capacity only began after those contracts had ended. This left the organisation unable to defend claims, contributing to the accumulation of default judgments.
Barriel also told MPs that although disciplinary action was supposed to begin with a line manager identifying misconduct, in practice executives or the CEO sometimes instructed that specific employees be disciplined. Human resources and line managers were then expected to act on those instructions.
He confirmed that RAF policy limits suspensions to six months, except in exceptional cases, yet some employees had been suspended for several years despite HR recommendations for their reinstatement.
Barriel further said the Fund routinely used external labour lawyers to prosecute and chair internal disciplinary hearings – justified on the basis that “the RAF cannot prosecute itself”. This significantly increased costs and, in his view, placed ordinary employees at a disadvantage.
According to him, the RAF also used public funds to pursue drawn-out legal battles against suspended employees through the CCMA, Labour Court, and Labour Appeal Court instead of implementing unfavourable rulings. Many staff members, he said, were “emotionally and financially worn down” by the process.
He added that a number of specialist adviser positions were created in the office of then-CEO Collins Letsoalo during what was referred to internally as the “transition”. These roles – seven in total – were drafted and graded by an external service provider and filled through a recruitment agency under a “scarce or specialist skills” route. One such appointment, a security specialist seconded from PRASA, reported directly to the CEO.
Political concern over costly suspensions
In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said some RAF officials were suspended simply because Letsoalo “did not like them”.
Beesley called the long-term suspensions both “bizarre” and unlawful.
“It’s not legal because the RAF has in their policy that a maximum of six months,” he said. “You’ve got good competent staff who made a stand against the corruption and incompetence that has been playing out at the Road Accident Fund, so they’ve just been suspended indefinitely.”
Beesley said that when SCOPA questioned Barriel on why these suspensions had been allowed to go on for so long, “he couldn’t give a proper response at all”.
He added that many capable employees had been dismissed while the fund “brought in huge legal firms to fight ordinary employees”, further increasing costs.
“Many staff would raise legitimate issues and then be suspended for no reason. They know if it ever went to a proper disciplinary hearing, they would actually lose the case, so they just kept people suspended indefinitely.”
When asked who authorised keeping staff on full pay for so long, Beesley said it appeared to be a case of senior managers protecting each other.
“There was a cabal in the Road Accident Fund, and I’d go so far as to say a bunch of sociopaths,” he said. “If anybody went against the CEO and his cabal, they were either charged or dismissed.”
Specialist appointments under scrutiny
Letsoalo was appointed as CEO in 2020, following a period as acting CEO on secondment from the Department of Transport.
At the time, then Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula welcomed his appointment, saying it would “place the RAF on a stable footing” and provide the leadership needed to steer the fund towards the planned Road Accident Benefit Scheme.
However, testimony before SCOPA by former RAF CFO Victor Songelwa described how, during Letsoalo’s tenure, a series of “specialist” positions were created in the CEO’s office outside the approved organisational structure.
Songelwa told MPs that the first batch of specialists – including a senior finance specialist, a treasury specialist, and a change specialist – arrived on 4 May 2020. Another group followed on 1 June 2020, consisting of a communication specialist and a senior change specialist, with a re-engineering specialist joining a month later, on 1 July 2020. In addition, there were also appointments of an ICT specialist and a security specialist.
According to Songelwa, the senior finance specialist was appointed as acting CFO from 2 June 2020, while the treasury specialist became acting general manager: treasury in July.
He emphasised that the treasury specialist position did not exist on the RAF’s approved structure, as there was already a senior manager for treasury reporting to the general manager for finance. Nevertheless, the specialist was later formally appointed as general manager: treasury and eventually became chief investment officer, also taking over the actuarial department.
“I found him giving instructions to the team in actuarial,” Songelwa told the committee.
SCOPA moves to compel Letsoalo to testify
After several failed attempts to secure his voluntary appearance, SCOPA resolved on 31 October to subpoena Letsoalo to appear before the committee later this month.
In terms of Parliament’s Powers, Privileges and Immunities Act, the committee may summon any person to appear before it if the information required is within that person’s direct knowledge.
SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi said the decision was not taken lightly but was necessary to ensure the inquiry could be concluded.
“Several witnesses have made averments that fairness demands Mr Letsoalo is given an opportunity to respond,” he said.
“His insights as CEO of the RAF will also assist the committee to reach well-informed conclusions and recommendations to the National Assembly.”
