Road Accident Fund Might Be Changed Into Equitable Benefit Model
- In order to help claimants receive the actual funds paid by the Road Accident Fund, the Department of Social Development wants an equitable benefit model introduced
- According to Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula, RAF claimants only receive 40% of what is paid out and the rest goes to legal fees
- The introduction of the equitable benefit model will mean that all South Africans in need of compensation will not have to pay steep legal and administration fees
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The Road Accident Fund system is getting a new model that will allow all South Africans that need compensation from the fund to have access to the fund, says the Department of Social Development.
The department says the new equitable fund model will take away the financial burden of hiring lawyers in order to have access to the road accident victims who need it in South Africa, according to a report by SABC News.
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According to Social Development's Deputy Director-General Brenda Sibeko, applicants pay huge amounts of money to lawyers when they need to get compensation from the fund and the department wants to change that.
“If you are poor and you don’t have a good lawyer you get a small benefit. So what we are saying is that we need to create an equitable system that is there for everybody," said Sibeko.
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Sibeko says the new more will make it more affordable for people who need compensation to receive an amount that is fair. She added that the department wanted to make sure that the money given to claimants does not go towards paying legal representation fees.
According to the Daily Maverick, the new model will help RAF, which has been largely victimised by unethical elements and questionable legal tactics in the past.
Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says over 60% of the funds paid out to claimants go to payments of legal and administration fees while claimants only receive 40%.
'Cash-strapped' Road Accident Fund seeks to pay R14 billion to victims of accidents
Briefly News previously reported that the ailing Road Accident Fund (RAF) is scratching its head over more than R14 billion that it is needing to pay road accident victims.
Despite this and its obvious cash flow problems, the national government department insists it is not at a stage where it needs a bailout, according to a report by TimesLIVE.
RAF is responsible for providing appropriate cover to all road users within the borders of South Africa. The fund rehabilitates and compensates persons injured in motor vehicles and claims it actively promotes the safe use of the country's roads.
Just days ago, the sheriff of the court attached assets of the Department of Transport due to unpaid claims. According to reports, the claims have been finalised but are still unpaid owing to cash flow issues.
Source: Briefly News
