The Road Accident Fund's (RAF) deficit has exceeded R42-billion and inadequate funding makes in impossible for the fund to settle the current claims backlog, Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele said on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a question in the National Assembly, he acknowledged that claims against the RAF had been going to court.
"Yes, claims against the RAF have gone to court in the past three years.
"The reasons for the respective claims going to court are systemic and lack of funding resulting in a backlog of claims," he said.
The regulatory environment within which the RAF operated was based on a common law and a fault-based system.
Compensation for claims was in accordance with the RAF Act, as amended, which stated that "the object of the fund shall be the payment of compensation in accordance with this act for loss or damage wrongfully caused by driving a motor vehicle".
Within the ambit of this regulatory environment, the main reasons for litigation were based on argument of merits, in other words, the degree of fault and the quantum of a claim, Ndebele said.
"The RAF has also been underfunded for more than 30 years, which has led to a deficit in excess of R42-billion and a claims backlog of approximately 250 000 in numbers."
In terms of the act, the RAF could be summonsed after 120 days of claims lodgement if the claim had not been settled.
"As a result of mainly inadequate funding, it is not possible to settle the claims backlog that currently exists," he said.
