South African road agency spent R2.4 billion on salaries in 1 year – including R9.8 million on suspended CEO

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) spent R2.468 billion on salaries in 2025, including R9.8 million on its former CEO, Collins Letsoalo.

The RAF is a state-owned entity responsible for paying compensation for victims of vehicle-related accidents in South Africa. However, it has been plagued by accusations of severe mismanagement.

It receives approximately R45 billion per year from the Road Accident Fund Levy, a tax imposed on the sale of every litre of petrol and diesel sold in South Africa.

Even with this enormous revenue stream, the RAF is technically insolvent, with debts exceeding R500 billion.

It has yet to settle nearly 40,000 claims collectively valued at R21.76 billion, with some claims dating as far back as 2007.

Despite this, the RAF spent nearly R2.5 billion on personnel costs in 2025, including performance bonuses for several high-ranking employees.

The RAF’s latest annual report showed a breakdown of the entity’s personnel costs and performance awards for the 2025 financial year.

Personnel expenditure accounted for R2.468 billion, or 62% of its total costs. Basic salaries amounted to R1.786 billion, equating to an average salary of R742,000 per employee.

Additionally, the RAF paid its staff R232 million in performance awards, accounting for 13% of its personnel expenditure.

Its upper management team, comprised of 13 employees, was paid R37 million, including performance awards totalling R8.2 million.

Former RAF CEO paid R9.8 million

The former CEO of the Road Accident Fund, Collins Letsoalo, was paid R9.8 million in the 2025 financial year, including a bonus of R2.8 million.

Letsoalo was placed on special leave and was later suspended in June 2025, following an inquiry launched by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) to look into financial mismanagement at the RAF.

This led to an official investigation by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which concluded that there were major financial irregularities, duplicate payments, and governance failures at the RAF.

The SIU laid several allegations of governance deficiencies and mismanagement at Letsoalo during a parliamentary inquiry, including bypassing the board and interfering in procurement matters.

SCOPA also highlighted that Letsoalo had spent millions of rands on personal expenses, including R4.6 million on an armoured BMW X5 for his security detail in 2024.

This information was heavily criticized by SCOPA member Alan Beesley, who said it was ridiculous that Letsoalo had a private army protecting him and his wife.

“The reality is that all South Africans have paid for this exorbitant amount through the fuel levy, and at a time when claim payouts have reduced to a trickle,” Beesley said.

The CEO was suspended following the SIU’s investigation. He challenged the suspension in the High Court, but the application was dismissed.

In August 2025, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy confirmed that Letsoalo’s contract had ended and that he had left the RAF.