The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that South Africa’s fuel prices should be permanently reduced by removing the multiple rands-per-litre that the Road Accident Fund adds to the pump price of petrol and diesel. The DA will engage Transport Minister Barbara Creecy with plans to replace the RAF, through legislative amendment.
Every vehicle in South Africa pays multiple rands-per-litre to the Road Accident Fund with every filling-up of fuel at a filling station, yet the RAF squanders this money. The alternative to the RAF is a scaled down safety net for road accident victims, paired with compulsory third-party insurance for all drivers.
The Road Accident Fund is a failed entity, wracked by corruption, and unable to deliver settlement payments to hundreds of thousands of road accident victims. Just this week its former CEO faces possible criminal charges from Parliament.
The RAF’s major shortcoming, and reason it does not deserve to scalp every person who fills up, is that it does not come close to meeting its mandate, while it costs hundreds of millions to administer and to fight court cases.
Its purpose was meant to be a safety net for victims of road accidents who suffer a material loss through no fault of their own, and where the driver of a vehicle causes that loss but does not have their own personal financial means to compensate the victim. It is a state-administered insurance in a way, paid for by every person who purchases petrol or diesel.
The purpose of the RAF is noble, but the execution is an outright failure. Deserving victims and survivors wait years for any RAF settlement, they are fought in court, and many unscrupulous individuals have established entire business practices aimed at milking the RAF for the most minor traffic incidents.
The model does not work, and South Africans must not be made to pay for it any longer at the pump.
The time to scrap the RAF in its current form is now, and it must be replaced urgently as a longer-term way to reduce the fuel price.