Road Accident Fund in Crisis: New CEO, R21.7 Billion Backlog & Urgent Reform Calls – October 2026 Update

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) continues to dominate South African headlines in October 2026, with a new CEO appointment, a staggering R21.7 billion unpaid claims backlog, parliamentary scrutiny, court orders, and growing calls for systemic reform. Here is a comprehensive roundup of the latest developments affecting millions of South African road users and accident victims.

1. New CEO Waseem Carrim Takes the Helm on 1 November 2026

In one of the most significant leadership developments at the RAF in recent memory, Cabinet has approved Waseem Carrim as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Road Accident Fund, effective 1 November 2026. Carrim becomes the fifth RAF CEO in just over a year — a staggering rate of leadership turnover at an institution that is technically insolvent.

A chartered accountant by training, Carrim previously served as CEO of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) — where he achieved nine consecutive clean audit outcomes — and most recently as acting CEO of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

In an interview with Moneyweb, Carrim acknowledged the scale of the challenge but expressed cautious optimism:

“I think there are three things that make me believe the situation can be turned around: a strong and supportive transport minister [Barbara Creecy], an interim board led by very capable individuals, and a five-year mandate to turn things around.”

Carrim’s Immediate Priorities

• Reforming the RAF’s financial model — including exploring annuity payments instead of once-off lump-sum payouts
• Rebuilding claims administration — presenting a credible plan to tackle the severe claims backlog
• Controlling litigation costs — which currently drive enormous expenditure
• Tackling fraud and corruption — with a zero-tolerance approach and swift disciplinary action
• Restoring trust — with claimants, lawyers, medical professionals, and the public

Carrim also supports the adoption of the Road Accident Benefit Scheme (RABS) Bill, which would introduce a no-fault system replacing lump-sum payouts with structured periodic payments — a move widely seen as essential to the RAF’s long-term sustainability.

2. R21.7 Billion in Unpaid Claims — 37,622 Victims Waiting

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy revealed in a parliamentary reply that as of 28 June 2026, the RAF had 37,622 finalised claims awaiting payment, totalling a staggering R21.76 billion across 47,949 payment transactions.

The main reasons cited for delayed payments include:

• Outstanding compliance requirements
• Missing documentation
• Payments not yet reaching their due dates
• Ongoing verification processes (affecting claims worth over R9.1 billion)

This backlog grew by R3.62 billion in just three months — a deeply alarming trend that highlights the fund’s acute liquidity crisis. Crash victims and their families are being left destitute as they wait, sometimes for years, for compensation they are legally entitled to.

3. RAF’s Financial Crisis: Liabilities Exceed R439.5 Billion

The RAF’s 2025/26 annual report paints a dire financial picture. The fund describes itself as “under-capitalised”, with its liabilities exceeding its assets by R439.5 billion. The RAF receives more than R50 billion per year from the fuel levy, yet pays out approximately R25 billion per month in claims while receiving only around R4 billion per month in revenue.

Proposed 33% Fuel Levy Increase

To address its funding shortfall, the RAF has announced plans to increase the current R2.25-per-litre fuel levy to R3 per litre — a 33% increase. The fund blames reduced fuel sales (partly due to rising fuel prices linked to Middle East conflicts) for impacting its revenue model.

The RAF is also exploring longer-term reforms, including converting lump-sum settlements into periodic annuity payments to reduce immediate cash flow pressure.

4. Parliament’s SCOPA Flags Security Spending and Governance Failures

A draft report from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) inquiry into the RAF has flagged serious concerns, including controversial security spending under former CEO Collins Letsoalo, who was suspended in April 2025 over a controversial lease deal and now faces SCOPA charges.

The Portfolio Committee on Transport has also raised concerns about the RAF’s liquidity challenges, noting that even if the fund received additional funding, systemic governance failures would need to be addressed first.

Positively, the RAF Board has decided to revert to the government-wide accepted GRAP 19 accounting standard and has withdrawn from costly litigation against the Auditor-General’s office — a significant step toward restoring credibility.

5. Courts Continue to Order RAF Payments

South African courts have continued to hold the RAF accountable through a series of significant judgments:

• The Western Cape High Court ordered the RAF to pay R2.2 million to a pedestrian (Catherine Yiannakis) for past hospital and medical expenses, and slapped the fund with a punitive cost order for issuing directives in bad faith.
• The court reaffirmed that the RAF cannot refuse claims for past medical expenses on the basis that they were covered by a claimant’s medical scheme.
• A Supreme Court of Appeal judgment on 30 April 2026 directed the RAF to revert to the 2008 RAF 1 Form for claims processing.
• The Constitutional Court ruled against the RAF’s attempts to exclude undocumented foreign nationals from claiming compensation.

6. Calls to Fix the RAF Before Seeking New Revenue

Civil society voices have grown louder in their criticism of the government’s approach to the RAF crisis. Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), writing in Daily Maverick, argued forcefully that the RAF’s crisis is not a revenue problem — it is a governance and management problem.

“The RAF is not in trouble because the government has failed to extract enough money from motorists. Enormous revenue increases have been accompanied by maladministration, inefficient systems, weak oversight and poor leadership.”

Key points from Duvenage’s analysis:

• The RAF levy has grown from 46.5c per litre in 2009 to R2.25 in 2026 — well above inflation
• RAF revenue grew from ~R12.5 billion in 2010 to over R50 billion in 2024/25, yet performance deteriorated
• Employee costs ballooned from R590 million to R2.47 billion over the same period
• Total liabilities grew from R46 billion in 2010 to approximately R450 billion today — a tenfold increase
• The fuel levy remains the most efficient collection mechanism and should not be replaced with a third-party insurance model, which failed in South Africa before 1986

7. Key Trends and What to Watch

Based on the latest news, several critical trends are shaping the RAF’s trajectory:

1. Leadership stability: Whether Carrim can provide the stable, reform-oriented leadership the RAF desperately needs will be the defining story of the next 12 months.
2. RABS Bill progress: The Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill, which would fundamentally restructure how the RAF operates, remains a key legislative priority.
3. Fuel levy debate: The proposed 33% levy increase will face significant public and political resistance, especially as South Africans already face high fuel prices.
4. Claims backlog: With 37,622+ victims waiting for R21.7 billion in payments, the human cost of the RAF’s dysfunction continues to mount.
5. Fraud and corruption crackdown: Carrim has signalled a zero-tolerance approach — watch for disciplinary actions and law enforcement referrals.
6. Electric vehicle funding gap: As EVs gradually erode fuel levy revenue, the RAF must develop a sustainable long-term funding model.

How to Lodge a RAF Claim

If you or a loved one has been injured in a road accident in South Africa, you may be entitled to compensation from the RAF. Here’s what you need to know:

• Claims must generally be lodged within 3 years of the accident date
• You can lodge a claim directly with the RAF or through an attorney
• Visit the official RAF website at www.raf.co.za for claim forms and guidance
• The RAF’s Settlement Drive programme has been actively settling claims at hospitals and community venues across South Africa

Conclusion

The Road Accident Fund stands at a critical crossroads in October 2026. With a new CEO taking office, a R21.7 billion claims backlog, mounting court orders, and growing public pressure for reform, the next few months will be pivotal. South Africans — whether road accident victims, motorists paying the fuel levy, or taxpayers — have a direct stake in whether Waseem Carrim and the RAF’s interim board can finally turn this embattled institution around.

Stay tuned to this blog for daily updates on the Road Accident Fund and other key South African legal and financial news.