Officials found the bus was overloaded and carrying bottles of medicine that may have been in the process of being smuggled over the border.
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is providing clarity in response to reports suggesting it is liable for claims arising from the recent bus crash in Limpopo, in which 43 people died.
The RAF said: “It is not accurate that the RAF is liable for all or any accidents. The liability of the RAF is established by the RAF Act, which provides in section 3 that ‘the object of the fund shall be the payment of compensation in accordance with this Act for loss or damage wrongfully caused by the driving of motor vehicles’.
Foreign nationals
It added that compensation for victims, including foreign nationals, will be subject to the RAF and Immigration Act.
“With regard to claims by foreign nationals, the RAF, as an organ of state, is obliged to comply with the provisions of section 42 of the Immigration Act, which prohibits the aiding and abetting of illegal foreigners.
“Where the RAF’s liability is established, the payment of compensation must not contravene any other law such as the Immigration Act,” it said.
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Facts
The RAF said that before it can be held liable for compensation, it must be established that the accident was caused by negligence.
“For this to happen, each claim must be lodged and thoroughly investigated. Until the claims are lodged with the RAF, we implore everyone concerned to allow the relevant authorities to conclude their investigations before any pronouncements are made on the liability of the RAF.
“The RAF sympathises with the families of those injured and killed in the accident. The RAF further extends its deepest condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones and pledges to support them all in the lodging of their claims for compensation,” it said.
Bus crash
One of the country’s deadliest bus crashes claimed 43 lives on the N1 road between Makhado and Musina last week.
Officials found the bus was overloaded and was carrying antiretroviral drugs that may have been going to be smuggled over the border.
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