Road accidents cost SA up to R260bn a year, placing immense strain on the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Mkhuleko Hlengwa, deputy minister of transport, has told parliament that the government was now pushing for stricter road safety laws and reforms, such as the Road Accident Benefit Scheme (RABS) bill, warning that shutting down the RAF would disproportionately hurt the poor.
Speaking before the standing committee of public accounts, Hlengwa said the introduction of the bill doesn’t target the poor but creates balance, as currently the higher-value claims benefit most from the system.
“While shutting down the RAF entirely is not an option because the poorest of the poor would be hardest hit. We are also aware that they remain the most disadvantaged due to the slow pace of their claims and the burdensome proof required,” he said.
The bill introduced in 2013 creates a new system aimed at introducing a no-fault claims system, limits, and standardised payouts. It allows for the RAF to pay benefits in monthly annuities instead of lump sums and would require foreigners to have travel insurance before entering the country.
Our primary responsibility as a country is to fund traffic law enforcement and strengthen road safety operations as preventative interventions to reduce the strain placed on the RAF. We therefore need to look at this as a broader ecosystem
— Mkhuleko Hlengwa, deputy minister of transport
Hlengwa said the bill ecosystem must not be viewed as a silver bullet.
“In the first instance, it is a reactive mechanism to a crash, injury or fatality. Our primary responsibility as a country is to fund traffic law enforcement and strengthen road safety operations as preventative interventions to reduce the strain placed on the RAF. We therefore need to look at this as a broader ecosystem.”
He said the cost of road accidents to the fiscus is estimated at between R205bn and R260bn, when healthcare, trauma response and related costs are taken into account.
Hlengwa added that they are not looking at reforms confined only to what happens within the RAF.
“We are asking how we can build an ecosystem that prevents accidents from occurring in the first place. That is why you would have heard proposals to amend the National Road Traffic Act, including reverting to a zero-alcohol limit, because we have a serious drinking problem in the country that contributes significantly to accidents, particularly from Friday to Monday evenings,” he said.
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