The ongoing debate about the rescue of the faltering Road Accident Fund was renewed in Parliament on Wednesday when the Department of Transport proposed new amendments to streamline the fund.
The ongoing debate about the rescue of the faltering Road Accident Fund was renewed in Parliament on Wednesday when the Department of Transport proposed new amendments to streamline the fund.
The transport department’s deputy director-general, Nonkululeko Msomi, said the department’s new approach to the fund had not changed dramatically from the original bill presented to parliament last year.
The proposed new amendments took into account the views expressed when the first amendment bill was tabled, she said. However, she also said these amendments would not be the solution to the fund’s mounting problems.
The changes to the Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill included proposals to limit compensation claims. It also included ways in which the claims could be settled sooner without accident victims having to pay unnecessary legal fees to personal injury lawyers.
The amendments would be used as an interim measure while the victim recompensation system was being restructured to improve the cash-slow situation of the technically bankrupt fund.
Only claims for serious injuries would be considered and claims for emotional shock would just be paid to those involved in the accident, or their immediate families.
Msomi said the amended bill, which was first presented last year, would be tabled in Parliament in October. Proposals on the long-term future of the fund should be presented to cabinet in July next year.
