MINISTER NDEBELE ON DRAFT POLICY ON ROAD ACCIDENT FUND
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele will tomorrow (12 February 2010) publish the Draft Policy on the Restructuring of the Road Accident Fund on a No-Fault basis for public comment.
In terms of the notice, members of the public have 60 days to provide input on the proposals.
The Minister said the proposals are a great step forward in providing benefits to all victims of road crashes. *The proposals are a great step forward in enabling government to provide immediate access to benefits to all victims of road crashes, and in addressing the inequities in the current system. Section 195 of the Constitution requires us to promote efficient, economic and effective use of resources. We cannot afford to continue funding the current scheme, which is a waste of scarce resources and which appears to benefit intermediaries rather than the intended beneficiaries,* said the Minister.
Cabinet approved the draft policy for publication during October 2009.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Jeremy Cronin, subsequently presented the draft policy to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport on 3 February 2010.
The requirement of proving fault is integral to the current RAF, as it was with its predecessor motor vehicle insurance systems since 1942. In a number of jurisdictions world-wide, the requirement of fault has been done away with huge savings in administrative costs, which can then be channeled into healthcare and loss of income or support. For this reason, those systems are referred to as No-Fault systems or schemes.
Moving to a No-Fault system will also enable us to end the long delays inherent in a litigious, dispute-ridden system and will also relieve enormous pressure on court-rolls currently over-burdened with tens of thousands of pending RAF cases. The present lump-sum award system also encourages the perverse incentive for a claimant to present his or her injury as long-lasting. In the No-Fault approach, the emphasis will be on ongoing case management with a focus on rehabilitation.
The Road Accident Fund Commission, which published its extensively researched three volume report in 2002, made significant findings with regard to South Africa*s motor vehicle accident compensation scheme.
Following that report, the so-called Taylor Committee also made various recommendations regarding a Comprehensive Social Security net with a transformed RAF as part of such a net. The current proposals are well researched, formulated and build on the foundations laid by the RAF Commission and Taylor Committee.
In terms of an envisaged fundamental overhaul, the draft policy proposes that the current Road Accident Fund be replaced by the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Administrator, and that the current adversarial system be replaced with a scheme based on the principles of social security and solidarity. Victims of road crashes will no longer need to prove fault or contributory fault on the part of another driver. This will mean that access to emergency medical treatment will be immediate and not dependent on an evaluation or admission of fault or negligence.
The draft policy will be published in tomorrow*s (12 February 2010) Government Gazette and the public may purchase copies of the draft policy from the Government Printer. The draft policy may also be accessed on the Department of Transport website at www.transport.gov.za and on the RAF website at www.raf.co.za.
Media Enquiries:Deputy Minister of Transport, Jeremy Cronin
Statement issued by the Department of Transport, February 11 2010
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