Road Accident Fund Amendment Draft Bill 2023

The Department of Transport has published the Road Accident Fund Amendment Draft Bill 2023, and is asking you to comment.

The Bill  seeks to
• amend the Road Accident Fund Act (“the Act"), 1996 as amended, so as to delete definitions and insert new definitions;
• clarify the nature of the Fund;
• give effect to the findings and recommendations of the Road Accident Fund Commission;
• reorganise the powers and functions of the Fund;
• repeal the Fund’s authority to appoint agents to administer claims;
• amend the constitution of the Board by including the Chief Executive Officer as an executive member of the Board;
• simplify the Act by moving procedural and administrative matters to the regulations and Board Notices; to limit the liability of the Fund to motor vehicle accidents occurring on public roads;
• remove the obligation for the Fund to compensate a third party for non-pecuniary loss;
• provide for the provision by the Fund of injury and death benefits subject to prescribed limits and periodical review;
• clarify exclusions of liability of the Fund; to extend the period before interest accrues on an award;
• remove the right of suppliers to claim from the Fund;
• provide for the further exclusion of the Fund’s liability in respect of specific third parties and specific situations;
• harmonise the prescription regime for all claims;
• enable the lodgement of claims by digital form;
• authorise the Board to stipulate terms and conditions for administrative claim processes and claim forms;
• provide for dispute resolution mechanisms and the establishment of the Office of Road Accident Fund Adjudicator to dispose of complaints by the third party in relation to the claims;
• restructure the Minister’s powers to make regulations;
• empower the Fund to make annuity payments for claims and to monitor and re-assess active claims;
• allow for lodgement of claims, on behalf of the claimants by other functionaries;
• make provisions to ensure compliance with Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013;
• amend the financial control provisions and align them to the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017;
• align the financial reporting requirements to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999;
• enhance information submission provision requirements;
• align the provisions of the Act to case law; and, to provide for matters connected therewith.

Comments can be emailed to Ms Lindiwe Twala at [email protected] or Mr Trevor Mphahlele at [email protected] by no later than Sunday, 08 October 2023.