Scrap the road accident fund, replace it with new model

While we understand the reasons for the increases and decreases in the fuel price, it appears that only the increases seem to be passed onto the general public in the form of increased public transport costs and general consumables that one finds in the supermarkets and retail stores.  

The masses are currently living from hand to mouth and with all the possible future cost of living price increases looming, one wonders when will they resort to riots and looting like in July 2021.

Our ANC government has been under pressure to find ways of reducing the fuel price for many years now and various organisations have recommended scrapping the bankrupt and inefficient Road Accident Fund (RAF), which despite getting regular bailout funding from Treasury, has shown time and again the rampant corruption within its own ranks as well with some of the lawyers representing clients claiming from RAF.

There are some lawyers who even offer monetary incentives to various people – including members of  the police and hospital staff – for lists of people injured as a result of road accidents.  

The RAF levy makes up approximately 30% of our fuel costs and over the last 15 years there has been an increase of over 400% in the RAF levy alone. History under the ANC government has shown that every state-owned enterprise (SOE) has failed miserably, so the only solution for the RAF, our SOEs or any parastatal is to go private.

There are much better non-government alternatives to our current RAF in various countries, like a mandatory personal 3rd party insurance for every vehicle owner. And these various private options need to be investigated to find which is most suitable for SA.  

Leon de Vos, La Lucia, KZN