Critics slam government's 'unfair' new Road Accident Fund bill

[schumi]

Cape Town - Imagine you lose a limb in a car accident, or you are left brain-damaged, can never work again and the maximum benefit you can claim from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is only R280 000 per annum?

Even this amount is not guaranteed, this may be the reality for many South Africans if a draft bill on the new workings and name change to the RAF is passed by Parliament. Personal injury lawyers are spitting fire and claim the move is an attempt by the government to get its hands on the estimated R40billion that the RAF collects annually from the fuel levy.

The proposed legislation will soon be discussed in the National Assembly and claims by several attorneys were strengthened this week when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government plans to use money from the Government Employees Pension Fund to stock up its empty coffers.

Weekend Argus spoke to personal injury lawyers who are in agreement that there is “no thinking” behind many of the proposed changes.

Under the proposed legislation, the RAF will become the Road Accident Benefit Scheme and payouts will be capped at R280 000 per annum. People who are involved in car accidents would no longer be able to claim against the guilty parties and guilty motorists would get the same benefits as innocent victims.

Benefits would only be paid to persons between the ages of 18 to 60 years. If you are unemployed or unable to prove an income, your claim will be limited to the Annual Average National Income, currently R52 000 per year, (R4333 per month, which is subject to 25% personal income tax). This applies to students about to embark on a career and/or children when they reach the age of 18, regardless of the value of the real earning capacity destroyed.

More at: https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/critics-slam-governments-unfair-new-road-accident-fund-bill-31210703

 

[konfab]

Just scrap it and put in mandatory 3rd party insurance

 

[Sollie]

Just scrap it and put in mandatory 3rd party insurance

Yep. Also no new laws to force these insurers on how to manage it, other than and safegaurding it. No maaaaney for the entitled wannabe plunderers to get their grubby paws on.

 

[Mortymoose]

Lawyers going to lose their percentage here?

 

[Swa]

State capture 2.0, the looting continues.

 

[ponder]

Don't worry people the nhi will look after the medical needs so no need for big payouts.

 

[evilstebunny]

Weekend Argus spoke to personal injury lawyers who are in agreement that there is “no thinking” behind many of the proposed changes.

Nuh, uh! You can bed that lotsa thinking went into it like..

1) How can I screw everyone else out of their money?
2) What isn't completely and irreversibly Africanized yet?
3) Oh look a squirrel..!
4) How much can we steal from the RAF?
5) If I'm a good cadre and screw my people for money will nambawan give me that diplomatic post in China so I can finally dust off this loser continent?
6) Squirrel? Squirrel!!
7) I wonder, would I look good in a Mercedes Benz?
8) or should I get a BMW?

It's just none of that thinking involves any progress or the survival of the country..

 

[John Tempus]

How to solve financial woes caused by theft ?

Lets steal more money from other industries.

That is the only logic applicable in decision making by our Dictator in chief.

 

[Jabulani22]

Seems difficult , seems like socialism cant work unless we have the majority of people in the country paying tax , lets find a way to limit benefits because only a small portion pay towards services.
*service delivery riots intensify*

 

[access]

aaand a motorcycle accident if youre 16? ... possibly disabled the rest of your life.

"only in africa will thieves be regrouping to loot again and the youths whos future is being stolen will be celebrating it"

 

[Swa]

Seems difficult , seems like socialism cant work unless we have the majority of people in the country paying tax , lets find a way to limit benefits because only a small portion pay towards services.
*service delivery riots intensify*

This should actually be a warning to those who scream for NHI.

 

[John Tempus]

Seems difficult , seems like socialism cant work unless we have the majority of people in the country paying tax , lets find a way to limit benefits because only a small portion pay towards services.
*service delivery riots intensify*

Well as the rather famous quote goes, "Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money."

 

[Sollie]

Well as the rather famous quote goes, "Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money."

Are we there yet ...

 

[krycor]

So basically the state is saying they take limited culpability and you need to insure yourself..

Seems about right? What am I missing?

 

[Zoomzoom]

Oh I don't know I can see two sides to this. The fund is seriously in debt with more claims than they have money to hand out. What is better - to get a little of what pie there is or to get nothing because it all goes tits up?

 

[Vrotappel]

Attorneys are fuming because they have been legally stealing money from taxpayers through this fund.

 

[John Tempus]

Oh I don't know I can see two sides to this. The fund is seriously in debt with more claims than they have money to hand out. What is better - to get a little of what pie there is or to get nothing because it all goes tits up?

Thats just it, it is actually old "false" news. The RAF cannot be in debt. You can only payout what they have, they cannot payout above what the fund is holding if that happens then there is no payouts.

That said, the RAF is funded via fuel levy and people will always buy fuel thus the RAF is always funded, simple as that.

As the article states it has multiple billions in holding right now that is likely growing faster than it is being spend and the government now earmarked it as another area to loot because a funded system is a bad system for this government.

 

[Swa]

Oh I don't know I can see two sides to this. The fund is seriously in debt with more claims than they have money to hand out. What is better - to get a little of what pie there is or to get nothing because it all goes tits up?

The real problem is that the payouts aren't related to seriousness of the injuries. Some people got hundreds of thousands for a few scrapes. But going from one broken system to the next won't solve anything.

Thats just it, it is actually old "false" news. The RAF cannot be in debt. You can only payout what they have, they cannot payout above what the fund is holding if that happens then there is no payouts.

That said, the RAF is funded via fuel levy and people will always buy fuel thus the RAF is always funded, simple as that.

As the article states it has multiple billions in holding right now that is likely growing faster than it is being spend and the government now earmarked it as another area to loot because a funded system is a bad system for this government.

The issue as I understand it is that it's become a pyramid scheme. So they may not be in debt but if they stop operating today they wouldn't have enough to cover the pending cases.

 

[Mila]

ANC Cuts pay outs to victims to loot more from the tax payer.

This country is a fuc show.

 

[supersunbird]

Attorneys are fuming because they have been legally stealing money from taxpayers through this fund.

Well, you don't fck everyone just to get the lawyers...