Dramatic changes to the Road Accident Fund are in the pipeline, Minister of Transport Dullah Omar announced on Wednesday, saying that the South African Cabinet had in principle accepted the recommendations of the Satchwell commission report.
The acceptance of the commission’s report means that the current principle of fault as the critical factor in claims against the fund is to be scrapped, with Omar saying that an interdepartmental committee is currently looking at timeframes and costs of implementing the 178 recommendations.
In the interim, he said, legislation would be introduced that would cap claims and also stop one-off payments that were proving to be a drain on the fund.
The possibility of monthly payments was being looked at as this would help to address the outflow of funds from the fund that is at present technically bankrupt. — I-Net Bridge