Collins Letsoalo, the former Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO, has failed to appear before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ (SCOPA’s) inquiry into dysfunction at the entity.
Collins was issued a summons to appear before SCOPA on 25 November, which he failed to answer; instead, he appeared on SABC’s Face The Nation, where he explained his position.
“I am not going to that kangaroo court, where Songezo Zibi is the Chairperson, evidence leader, interrogator, witness elector, and adjudicator in one,” he said.
This could potentially lead to SCOPA laying criminal charges against Letsoalo over his refusal to appear before it and ignoring an official summons, reported Newsday.
Should these charges be made, Letsoalo could be facing prison time for the offence.
Letsoalo was scheduled to appear before SCOPA at 9:00 am on Tuesday morning, but never appeared.
SCOPA chair Songezo Zibi noted that this action has significant implications for the committee’s work.
Statements from Alan Beesley, ActionSA MP and member of SCOPA, echoed this.
“Letsoala has effectively shown the middle finger to SCOPA, Parliament, and the people of South Africa,” he said.
“It is ironic that Letsoala says he will not appear before a ‘kangaroo court’. Many good, honest, and competent staff at RAF were subject to one of Letsoala’s many ‘kangaroo courts’ because they refused to buckle to unethical practices.”
The RAF, an entity that annually collects R48 billion in fuel levies, is being probed by Parliament over its various failures.
As its former CEO, Letsoalo is required to be present and provide testimony regarding his role in the entity’s governance issues.
However, Letsoalo’s legal team have stated that Parliament has ‘no legal authority’ to probe the RAF to the extent they are currently doing – a claim that Parliament has categorically disagreed with.
“Kindly refrain from harassing me. My lawyers have sent a letter to Parliament. Also, stop this nonsense that I have gone into hiding,” said Letsoala in a message to Parliament’s legal advisor.
It should be noted that the listed address Letsoalo used to communicate with Parliament was found to be an abandoned house with no signs of recent occupation, according to the sheriff.
The second address he used was also found to be a dead end.
Zibi has also stated that they’ve repeatedly extended the deadlines for Letsoalo to appear, and ANC’s Helen Neale-May added that his lack of appearance was a poor commentary on the situation.
“What message does this non-appearance send to Parliament, public and claimants whose lives have been affected?”
ActionSA’s Beesley and DA MP Patrick Atkinson have urged Zibi to lay criminal charges against him should he continue refusing to appear before Parliament.
“His failure to appear is in breach of Section 14 of the Powers and Privileges Act of Parliament and has broken the law,” said Beesley.
The former RAF CEO and the ‘witch hunt’
Letsoalo has claimed that he did nothing wrong and that the probe from Parliament is a “witch-hunt” by lawyers and the media.
This followed the committee’s determination that he had spent R23 million on bodyguards.
Letsoalo has dismissed the enquiry in the fund as unfair and politically driven, with claims that witnesses weren’t given proper opportunities to submit affidavits or responses.
He also claimed that the hearings were ‘chaotic’ and filled with untested allegations.
Letsoalo additionally argues that the entire process is aimed at undoing RAF reforms introduced from 2019, which he noted resulted in disruptions for lucrative arrangements benefitting ‘white law firms’ and other vested interests.
He is also of the firm opinion that RAF performance figures improved substantially under his leadership.
Zibi has rejected these claims and, speaking to the SABC after Letsoalo’s interview, noted that the fund had repeatedly refused to provide key information.
Additionally, he stated that Letsoalo had misled the public and the committee, with the State Security Agency confirming that he had never submitted the required vetting documentation.
He has also dismissed the claim that SCOPA lacked legal authority, indicating that members of Parliament’s transport committee are also involved in the inquiry.
Zibi included several concerning findings of SCOPA in his comments as well, including:
- Major change in the RAF’s accounting policy conducted without any recorded executive meeting or board approval.
- The RAF outsourced nearly R1 billion in procurement to external companies without examining invoices or questioning the spending.
- R100 million spent on disciplinary cases over the past five years, routinely using external lawyers and chairpersons who billed hourly rates.
- Numerous employees under suspension for up to four years without being charged.
- The RAF’s decision to dismiss its panel of attorneys led to thousands of unattended court cases.
- Working attorneys each handling up to 5,000 matters, leading to missed court appearances and billions added to its liabilities.
Loading ...
