Numsa’s Scopa testimony exposes billions lost at RAF and 320,000 claims backlogged

Numsa’s testimony before the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) has placed the Road Accident Fund’s (RAF) governance failures squarely in parliament’s spotlight. Evidence has shown that billions have been lost through prolonged staff suspensions, collapsed litigation capacity and procurement decisions that have left more than 320,000 claimants uncompensated.

Appearing before Scopa on Tuesday, Numsa officials Viwe James and Sive Mbali detailed how more than 50 claims officers have been on precautionary suspension for more than three years, drawing full salaries without corruption charges being proven.

RAF’s own figures show legal costs of about R119m incurred in defending these suspensions, a practice Scopa members described as “litigating at all costs” with public money. Section 188 of the Labour Relations Act requires disciplinary processes to be substantively and procedurally fair; Numsa argued that suspensions of this length constitute fruitless expenditure under the Public Finance Management Act.

The union linked these suspensions to wider operational collapse. In 2020 RAF terminated its panel of attorneys, which had historically defended thousands of claims in court. Without a transition plan, internal staff were left to absorb the caseload.

Default judgments surged, with the Special Investigating Unit reporting R4.8bn in liabilities over two years. Sheriffs have attached RAF assets across regional offices, forcing the fund to lease furniture and equipment.

Numsa told Scopa that Sunshine Hospital alone issued more than 6,000 summonses against RAF for unpaid bills, eventually closing after R300m remained outstanding.

Scopa members noted that unlawful labour practices carry financial implications, including remedies if Numsa prevails and indirect costs from depressed morale and productivity

Numsa also highlighted procurement decisions that raised questions of compliance with constitutional principles of transparency and value for money. The outsourcing of RAF’s national call centre in 2023 under the CRM project costs about R200m a year, compared with R20m when operated in‑house.

Over a three‑year term, the contract exceeds R600m, yet claimants report longer wait times and poor continuity of information. Numsa said internal staff were sidelined after training outsourced agents, resulting in resignations and loss of institutional knowledge.

The Integrated Claims Management System, known as Bokamoso, was launched at a cost of roughly R800m but remains incomplete and rigid. Staff bypass the system to process claims, undermining the rationale for retrenchments that management attempted in 2024.

Numsa told Scopa employees were not trained to operate the system, and the associated accounting policy change to IPSAS 42 triggered litigation and an auditor‑general dispute that RAF lost, incurring about R10m in legal costs.

Numsa further argued RAF’s unilateral derecognition of the union in March 2024, on the basis that the fund was a “social benefit scheme” rather than a transport entity, removed an internal accountability channel at a critical moment.

The labour court is still seized with Numsa’s challenge to that decision. Scopa members noted that unlawful labour practices carry financial implications, including remedies if Numsa prevails and indirect costs from depressed morale and productivity.