Jimmy Manyi, the government's chief spokesman, said Friday, 9 September 2011, that the cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy that proposed the establishment of the Road Accident Benefit Scheme that would take over the functions of the RAF.
The proposed policy would see the new scheme being governed along social security principles and operate on a "no-fault basis".
Manyi said the scheme was part of government's wide-ranging social security system reform initiative and would mark a departure from a system based on financial compensation.
Sam Monareng, spokesman for the transport department, said the fuel levy, which is currently used to finance RAF, would be used as the primary source of funding for the scheme.
Monareng said: "The actual setup costs to get the scheme up and running will be determined once implementation planning starts."
In March, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said the RAF's deficit had exceeded R42-billion and that inadequate funding was making it impossible for the fund to settle its claims backlog.
Maria Koorts, a deputy director general in the department of transport, said on Friday, the RAF would be restructured.
"The intention is indeed to have the Road Accident Fund restructured so that it can be a proper road accident benefit system and administrator.
"However, we are not going to look at immediate implementation. We need to go through the whole legislative process to actually change the legal dispensation from a fault-based system towards a no-fault system on the social security principles that have already been outlined," said Koorts, adding that the new scheme would not apply to already existing RAF claims.
Tony Twine, a senior economist at Econometrix, said it would take up to seven years for government to scrap RAF.
Source: The Times
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
