Wyndham Hartley, Parliamentary Editor
10 October 2003
Cape Town — Key loopholes in the law governing the Road Accident Fund, which costs government billions annually, are to be closed following the report of the Satchwell commission.
This follows hard on the heels of signs of strong opposition from the Black Lawyers Association to Judge Kathy Satchwell's appointment to the Constitutional Court.
There have also been fears that a new seven-page Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill was effectively a rejection of the commission's findings, but this has been denied.
The bill is a stopgap to close the most serious loopholes where money is being wasted, while a comprehensive new bill is developed by the social development and transport departments.
Some of the key issues recommended involve costing. Some have serious implications for national treasury.
The report was handed to President Thabo Mbeki in February and cabinet endorsed it in principle.
Chairman of Parliament's transport committee Jeremy Cronin said yesterday the full import of the Satchwell recommendations was not contained in the bill, which would come to Parliament next week. A more comprehensive piece of legislation would be passed next year.
"The costing exercises and other matters that have to be worked out take us way beyond the life of this Parliament so we have been putting pressure on the department ( transport) to get something in place before the end of this year," Cronin said.
He said that the amendment would start by putting a cap on loss of earning payments and would change the current position as it pertained to foreign nationals injured in SA.
At present they are paid in their countries' currency and this often runs into millions of rand while South Africans can get only R20000. If the bill is approved in its present form, it will pay foreigners in rand.
The system of a lump sum payments will also be scrapped and monthly payments introduced. This was a key recommendation of Satchwell, who suggested scrapping the lump sum system, which has been abused in the past. The move will result in the payment of costs to accident victims monthly.
Cronin said that the other recommendations, such as a nofault system as part of a social security system, would be worked on by the two departments and would hopefully come before Parliament next year.
News of the bill coming to Parliament follows a letter earlier this week to the Judicial Service Commission from the Black Lawyers Association asking for Satchwell not to be considered for appointment to the Constitutional Court.
Satchwell told the commission that lawyers were unhappy with the Road Accident Fund recommendations because they would take about R3bn from the legal industry.
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