RAF CEO placed on special leave with full pay, as MPs grill fund

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), Collins Letsoalo, has been placed on special leave with full pay.

This was confirmed during a Standing Committee on Public Accounts meeting in parliament on Wednesday. According to RAF board member Lekau Nyama, this is due to precautionary measures.

He has been implicated in alleged financial mismanagement and corruption.

Last month, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) issued an update on its investigation into the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

According to the SIU, its focus was on inconsistencies in procurement and tendering, duplicate claims and payments, service provider contracts, and fraud within the RAF.

The SIU recovered R317 million from its RAF investigations, identified 20 cases that need disciplinary referrals, and forwarded 20 more cases to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further investigation.

Scopa slams RAF over missing legal firm list

Scopa on Wednesday also sharply criticised the RAF for failing to provide a list of law firms contracted to render corporate legal services, despite repeated parliamentary requests.

The committee suspects that the RAF is deliberately withholding the information.

Scopa chairperson Songezo Zibi grilled RAF board members over the missing data, which was first requested months ago.

The fund had only submitted a list of law firms acting on behalf of claimants, but not those contracted for corporate legal services.

“In our previous interaction with the Road Accident Fund, only one list was presented,” said Zibi. “I raised the issue of where the other list is… That list was never sent to us.”

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‘Information withheld’

Zibi emphasised that the committee’s inquiry had become more urgent following revelations from the SIU, which reported that one law firm had received a disproportionately large share of RAF work.

“That information is necessary because it’s a continuing line of inquiry by the committee, amplified by what the SIU has provided,” he added.

“I now believe that this information is being deliberately withheld from the committee for improper reasons.”

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RAF board chair under fire

RAF board chair Lorraine Francois attempted to deflect responsibility, citing that operational matters fell under the executive’s purview.

However, members of parliament rejected this reasoning.

“I do acknowledge the fact that you’re holding me accountable. But we always expect that the CEO will coordinate the information,” said Francois.

Scopa members, including MP Mark Burke and MP Alan Beesley, were scathing in their responses.

Burke also took issue with Francois’s reported R1.2 million annual compensation.

“So you get paid R1.2 million, which is equivalent to a parliamentary salary, and it is in your mind too operational for you to respond to the board’s chair request for info. That is beyond the scope of your work? Does that seem reasonable to you?” he asked.

Beesley labelled Francois’s responses “dumbfounding”.

“The board is acting with impunity. They are treating Parliament with disrespect… It is totally, totally unacceptable,” he added.

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Call for accountability

Beesley called on the committee chairperson to “write letters of termination immediately.”

Francois ultimately promised that the required list would be submitted to the committee by Friday. However, MPs remained unconvinced.

“This is not just a matter of paperwork,” said Zibi. “It’s about accountability and respect for the constitutional oversight role of Parliament.”

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