Suspended Road Accident Fund (RAF) chief executive Collins Letsoalo (pictured) will find out next week whether the High Court in Pretoria will grant his urgent application to overturn his suspension and halt the recruitment process for his replacement.
Letsoalo was in court earlier this week, seeking to set aside the RAF board’s decision and to block the advertising of the CEO post before his contract ends on 6 August.
His suspension followed two special board meetings held on 30 May and 2 June. According to RAF board deputy chairperson Nomonde Mabuya-Moloele, the meetings were convened to reflect on the fund’s appearance before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). The board decided to suspend Letsoalo for alleged insubordination after he failed to appear before SCOPA on 28 May. He was initially placed on special leave.
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BusinessDay reported that Letsoalo contends the board had already resolved to renew his contract. But RAF board chairperson Zanele Francois disputed this, saying no such decision had been taken, and the board lacked the authority to do so.
Advocate Ernst van Graan, representing the RAF, argued that Letsoalo had no grounds to stop the recruitment process, because he could not produce any binding documentation showing the board supported his reappointment.
Letsoalo’s counsel, Advocate Hlalele Molotsi, rejected the official claim that Letsoalo was placed on leave pending investigations by the Special Investigating Unit. He said this was not true and accused the board of shifting explanations to justify its actions.
News24 reported that in court papers, Letsoalo accused Francois of misleading not only Parliament and the court but also Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. He included a letter dated 9 June from RAF audit committee chairperson Lekau Nyama, who warned the minister of serious governance failures at the Fund.
Nyama’s letter contradicted Francois’s statement that Letsoalo was suspended for failing to attend the SCOPA meeting, saying instead that the board had granted him compassionate leave to deal with personal matters.
Letsoalo also submitted travel records showing he had flown to Cape Town for the SCOPA session.
Molotsi argued the suspension was procedurally flawed, because the RAF board failed to follow its own disciplinary policies.
Van Graan maintained that Letsoalo had not provided sufficient evidence of unlawful conduct by the board and urged the court to dismiss the application.
