Road Accident Fund’s (RAF) Chief Executive Officer, Collins Letsoalo, apologised to legal practitioners for stepping on their toes. Mr Letsoalo was addressing the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) members at their Annual General Meeting that was held on 23 November 2024 under the theme ‘Reflections on the 30 Years Post Democracy, the BLA’s Perspective of the Present, Progressive Thus Far, Challenges and the Future.’ The RAF and the legal profession have been at loggerheads, due to the remarks that have been made on both sides in the media. Among those remarks, Mr Letsoalo blamed the backlog of non-payments on claimants of legal practitioners, claiming that it was due to the non-compliance of the legal practitioners, with regard to submitting all the necessary support documents to the RAF.
Mr Letsoalo also accused the legal profession of being against the Road Accident Benefit Scheme. He further said that legal practitioners had a problem with the fact that he was not a legal practitioner by profession. Legal practitioners pointed out that the RAF 1 Form is unreasonable as it requires many items that claimants do not have and as a result claims are not paid. Legal practitioners also said that Mr Letsoalo did not respect the legal profession, as he would often lambast and generalise that legal practitioners steal their clients RAF money and as a result claims are repudiated.
Road Accident Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, Collins Letsoalo, addressing the Black Lawyers Association members at their Annual General Meeting that was held on 23 November 2024.
At the BLA meeting, Mr Letsoalo said that when people speak of his name and legal practitioners in the same sentence, they make it seem like they are enemies. He, however, assured legal practitioners that he was not their enemy. He spoke to them about the direction that the RAF took and why the fund decided to take that direction. Mr Letsoalo said that the RAF, which is an organisation with origins in the Motor Vehicle Insurance Act 29 of 1942, was established to resolve a white middle-class problem, because the middle-class white people were hitting many black people with their vehicles and when the victims sued in common law, it was discovered that after being sued most of those families could not afford to pay out damages and claims.
Mr Letsoalo added the view was to form the RAF and ask the private sector to come and sell an indemnity cover for the crime. ‘This is at the base why you see the Road Accident Fund today, based on delict, the law of damages’, Mr Letsoalo said. He added that incidentally the fund had no less than seven commissions. He said soon after 1942 and opening doors in 1946, in 1948 there was a commission. He pointed out that the commissions come and go and the majority of them have been led by members of the judiciary. He mentioned that the last commission was chaired by Judge Kathy Satchwell and the commission produced a report in 2002. He said that the report talks about removing delict as a form of settling claims within the RAF.
Mr Letsoalo added: ‘Those that say we clog the courts, I asked them whether you can sue someone without going to court.’ He said with regard to civil cases when one sues, such cases can take long to resolve. ‘Now we are told our people must sue the state to get their benefits. That is the long and short of what the RAF is,’ Mr Letsoalo said. ‘What do you do when you arrive at the Road Accident Fund, and you arrive at an organisation that is collapsing. And you realise that out of the R 43 billion that you receive in the fuel levy, R 17 billion goes to administration costs,’ Mr Letsoalo noted.
Mr Letsoalo added that there are two ways of turning around an organisation, one is to increase revenue or reduce expenditure. He said that increasing the revenue was never an option. He pointed out that out of the R 17 billion of costs, R 10,6 billion goes to legal fees. ‘The question becomes what do you do? R 10,6 billion is about close to 25% of the amount we get. We looked at it and said there is something we must do about this R 10,6 billion. Mr Letsoalo added that contrary to popular believe, the fund engaged a number of stakeholders, such as the Law Society of South Africa and the BLA. ‘We met we the BLA and said ladies and gentlemen we have a problem. There is R 10,6 billion worth of legal fees that we need to reduce. On the back of that we are trying to learn from this organisation that apparently had the second biggest liability after Eskom. One of the biggest things was that the RAF suffered an existential crisis. We were told to go and turn around this entity, and if we could not, we were supposed to close it,’ Mr Letsoalo added.
Mr Letsoalo pointed out that at that time he called the RAF panel members to let them know that they are contributing R 3,8 billion to the R 10,6 billion and the RAF wanted to reduce it. And asked if they had any ideas on how it could be done. He mentioned a few members of the BLA, including the late former President of the BLA, Lutendo Sigogo, who was present at that meeting, as well as former BLA President Busani Mabunda. He told them to go and look for solutions to how the issue can be dealt with. He said this was in 2019 and he never received feedback from them. Mr Letsoalo said that there is an unfair expectation from various fraternities, including the legal profession, that there is a dearth of briefing patterns for black legal practitioners who are not being briefed. He pointed out that most of them operate in the RAF space. ‘I understand that is the space they have worked in for a very long time. But the unfairness of it is that we carry that bill.’
Mr Letsoalo referred to an article that was written in De Rebus by Professor Hennie Klopper, which stated that there is a need to review the litigation strategy of the RAF (Prof Hennie Klopper ‘Is the Road Accident Fund’s litigation in urgent need of review?‘ 2019 (March) DR 10). He encouraged BLA members to go read the article where Prof Klopper explained that he got the figures from the Gauteng Division of the High Court. ‘We are being told that we are clogging the courts then. What you pick up from that is that 99,6% of all these matters never appeared in front of the judge,’ Mr Letsoalo added. Mr Letsoalo said that the RAF picked s 24(5) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 read together with s 19(c) which says, if one submits a claim with the RAF and it is not validated by the RAF within 60 days it is valid with all respect in law. He pointed out that s 24 talks to submitting the claim either through the post office or physically at the RAF offices. ‘We thought we were so brilliant. We are going to reduce the backlog. This backlog, 300 000 claims sitting there, some of them direct claims have something very common, either direct or represented, 93% of all those things seated there did not have all the requirements for us to process in any event. People were submitting empty claims,’ Mr Letsoalo said.
Mr Letsoalo, however, said that it is not only the legal fraternity submitting empty claims but also employees of the RAF. He pointed out that the RAF pays employees on the basis of the number of claims they originated for direct claims. He said the RAF had to come up with solutions, and one of the solutions is to increase the settlement by agreement. He pointed out that it was sitting at 51% when the RAF started. ‘We have our own people, which is the panel, and on the other side we have plaintiffs that we were spending R 6,8 billion on. R 3,8 billion was spent and 99,6% of the time we were settling. We have increased that number to 81,9% of the time but of course the cost is what I termed “what does success look like.”’
Mr Letsoalo said the RAF has managed to reduce legal costs by R 6 billion a year over the last four years. He said the RAF’s success from a cost cutting perspective is not the legal fraternity’s success. ‘We started by saying we are going to reduce these costs by 75% over the next five years and that is the target we put for ourselves, and we say we want to settle these matters. It is very unfortunate that when we do that you go to court. Our very own panel took us to court in [Road Accident Fund and Others v Mabunda Incorporated and Others and a related matter [2023] 1 All SA 595 (SCA)].’
Mr Letsoalo pointed out that they needed to turn around the RAF, then they introduced the RAF 1 Form to try and solve the challenges of empty claims that are logged at RAF. He said claims need to be validated in 60 days, however, there is no information to validate those claims. He added that some of these claims do not even have accident reports in them. Mr Letsoalo said that the RAF is spending R180 million on administration costs a year on actuaries. He spoke about the disagreement between the RAF and the legal fraternity. He pointed out that the legal fraternity believes in the law. ‘I am happy that I read the history of the BLA. You are not the defenders of the law; your origin is as the defenders of justice. You were defenders of the law in Apartheid. You fought it because it was unjust, it was based on laws that were unjust, and you realise that. And I think that is the direction you guys must help us to go. On the table still exists that offer, that says tell us how better you would have done this,’ Mr Letsoalo added.
Mr Letsoalo also spoke about the development of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill 2023. He pointed out that there were 30 000 comments, however, the RAF is struggling to find comments that come from claimants. Mr Letsoalo also pointed out some years back, the RAF released the top 20 law firms. ‘I wanted to show our own people that sometimes these battles are not theirs. Out of those 20 only two were black law firms. It continues to be like that,’ Mr Letsoalo said. He pointed out that black legal practitioners do not benefit in the main. Mr Letsoalo said that the RAF decided to stop fixed allocations payments, which caused him to fight with one big white law firm. And when the RAF was asked why it had stopped payments, he added that he responded to them that it was not fair, and it was unjust, because clients represented by black law firms must wait longer, not only in terms of settlement but also in terms of claimants. He pointed out that the RAF decided to stop the fixed allocations so that all can be fair and equalised for all law firms and that is where the 180 days came about. Mr Letsoalo said that every decision or change they have made at the RAF has a background on why it had to happen. ‘When I want to turn an entity such as this and it turns around nobody wants to see the turnaround. They just see a boy from Seshego. Anyone who comes to ask me what happens, and I explain. “We are driven by data.” We are driven by evidence sitting in front of us that tells us this is the direction we should go,’ Mr Letsoalo said.
BLA members had the opportunity to ask Mr Letsoalo questions. Mr Kadafi Lehabe from the BLA North West branch asked what happened to block settlements. He added that they are constantly promised, however, they never come. Mr Letsoalo responded that block settlements are there. He attributed the issue of capacity as one of the challenges with regards to block settlements. He announced that internally the RAF decided to put a permanent team in each region to make sure that they deal with block settlements.
Mr Mabobane Commah Sebopela from the BLA Limpopo branch started by commending the RAF CEO on the good work he has been doing at the fund. He said that before Mr Letsoalo was appointed, he did not do any RAF work, that only after Mr Letsoalo’s appointment he began doing RAF work because before it was very difficult. Mr Sebopela asked Mr Letsoalo to look into the issue of s 17 relating to RAF cost. Mr Letsoalo said that he is happy that there is someone who says the current RAF systems work.
Another comment came from the former treasury general of the BLA, Mr Noveni Kubayi, who said that he did not appreciate comments, especially from the RAF spokesperson, that say lawyers are paid for only completing the forms and lawyers are thieves. He pointed out that it was wrong for such comments to be uttered as in the eyes of ordinary citizens, all legal practitioners get categorised and painted with the same brush. He suggested that the RAF must name and shame the individuals who steal citizens money rather than generalise.
Vice president of the Law Society of South Africa, with Judge Denise Mabaeng Lenyai of the Gauteng Division of the High Courts and Legal Aid South Africa Provincial Head, Mpho Kgabi attended the Black Lawyers Association’s Annual General Meeting on 23 November 2024.
Judge President of the Limpopo Division, Moletje George Phatudi, at the Black Lawyers Association’s Annual General Meeting.
During the messages of support, Judge President of the Limpopo Division, Moletje George Phatudi, urged the BLA to reflect on whether, in its post-1994 existence, it has achieved milestones consistent with its objectives over 30 years of the country’s constitutional emancipation. ‘The pride of black lawyers in our country is well vested in the annals of legal history. The judiciary as one and other equally important arms of states would like to see the BLA and constitutive membership at large play a leading role in transformative agenda towards shaping economical resources of the country by becoming actively involved in open competitive markets,’ Judge President Phatudi said.
National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL) NEC member, Zincedile Tiya, spoke on behalf of NADEL at the Black Lawyers Association Annual General Meeting.
National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL) NEC member, Zincedile Tiya, spoke on behalf of NADEL and said it seems as if the legal fraternity is being chased, that no one wants legal practitioners. He said these days debts collection and estate administration is even done by banks where clients are told to also make their Wills at those banks.
Mr Tiya added that the BLA and NADEL should work together in making sure that there is a firm representation of black African and conscious legal practitioners in bodies that seek to represent the profession, such as the Legal Practice Council (LPC) and the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund.
‘I am raising those issues comrades and colleagues because you will understand that the LPC regulates the profession. It is the LPC that tells us what to do, when to do it and how to do it. But if we allow the LPC to be led by the counter revolutionaries and the people who are not conscious, we will be dealt with whatever and whatever we raise will be set aside,’ Mr Tiya said. He also spoke about having a proper process of recruiting and mobilising new legal practitioners and teaching them ethics, so the legal practitioners are not labelled thieves.
The President of the BLA, Nkosana Mvundlela, agreed with Mr Tiya that the primary objective of legal practitioners is to ensure that clients get what is due to them. He, however, added that the few legal practitioners that have been found to go astray are not the total reflection of what is happening in the legal profession. He pointed out that the profession will call out those who are stealing from members of the public should they get information about such legal practitioners.
The head of legal in the office of the Legal Services Ombudsman, Munira Balim, said that the BLA has played a pivotal role in shaping the legal profession.
The head of legal in the office of the Legal Services Ombudsman, Munira Balim, said that the BLA has played a pivotal role in shaping the legal profession, advocating for transformation and promoting diversity and inclusion. She added that access to justice has also improved considerably. She congratulated the BLA for all the hard work that the BLA has put into the transformation process. She, however, noted that there are still some challenges such as racial and gender disparities in the legal profession.
Ms Balim said that economic inequality and unemployment continue to affect the marginalised people of South Africa. She added that the justice system faces capacity and resource constraints. Access to justice still remains difficult for the majority of South African people. ‘To address these challenges, we must intensify efforts to promote diversity, equality and inclusion. We need to enhance access to justice through innovative solutions and partnerships. We need to strengthen the capacity and the independence of the legal system,’ Ms Balim said.
The Vice President of the Law Society of South Africa, Eunice Masipa, said that the theme of the conference invites the profession to reflect critically and purposely as the country celebrates three decades of democracy in South Africa. ‘It is clear that the journey of justice and equality remains a work in progress. The BLA as the constituent member of the Law Society of South Africa occupies a vital place in our collective efforts to build a transformed legal profession. A profession that not only mirrors the diversity of our society but also stands as a firm pillar of justice and equality and the rule of law,’ Ms Masipa said.
The Vice President of the Law Society of South Africa, Eunice Masipa, said that the theme of the conference invites the profession to reflect critically and purposely as the country celebrates three decades of democracy in South Africa.
Ms Masipa said as members reflect on the three decades, there is recognition that SA’s transition from Apartheid to democracy was a moment of collective resolve and powerful testament to the nation’s aspirations for freedom, equality and dignity. Ms Masipa, however, said that even though Apartheid was dismantled, its legacy continues to cast the long shadow over the society. ‘And despite the progressive framework of our Constitution, inequality remains entrenched and for many South Africans unfortunately the promise of democracy is unfulfilled. And this unfulfilled promise is not just a social or an economic issue, but it is also a justice issue,’ Ms Masipa added.
Ms Masipa pointed out that the legal profession holds a unique responsibility addressing these challenges, she added: ‘As custodians of the law, we are charged to carry the torch of justice high, we need to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Constitution are more than just words on paper. We must advocate fearlessly for the marginalised. We must champion access to justice and hold the state accountable for its obligations.’ She said the work of legal practitioners should go beyond the court room and must include advocating for systematic changes that prevents millions of South Africans from enjoying the fruits of democracy.
Ms Masipa pointed out that the legal profession must also confront the uncomfortable truth in the profession, such as economic pressures, regulatory fees, as well as compliance costs that are mostly affecting smaller law firms as well as historically disadvantaged black legal practitioners.
Law Society of Lesotho President, Lintle Tuke, said that Lesotho is deeply rooted in the belief that the legal system and the legal profession are not merely national endeavours but regional commitments to justice, equity, human rights and the rule of law. Mr Tuke said that legal practitioners pose a threat to those who undermine order and the rule of law. ‘Precisely because we stand as guardians of justice. Defend the principles that shield the vulnerable, challenge the corrupt and protect the integrity of our society,’ Mr Tuke said.
Mr Tuke pointed out that the BLA stands as a powerful force in SA, advocating for transformation, diversity, access to justice. ‘Your legacy and commitment to these principles, not only in the jurisdiction and territory of South Africa but across the sub-region and globally,’ Mr Tuke added. He said the BLA honoured the Law Society of Lesotho with their presence at their AGM earlier this year. He said that collaboration instead of competition should be the cornerstone of collective efforts.
Mr Tuke said: ‘I believe we share the same challenges and somewhat the same history. Our mission is more intertwined. We are united in our dedication in the rule of law. Promoting justice and to champion the rights of the marginalised.’
The newly appointed chairperson of the LPC, Pule Seleka, pointed out that it was indeed true that the BLA played a role in the change at the LPC. He pointed out that the LPC has a huge mountain to deal with.
‘We have had to navigate the controversy of the profession when I was on the other side, if I may say so. In relation with the LPC and almost against the LPC. Because we at the Johannesburg Bar decided to forge a relationship with the LPC and serve the profession at large,’ Mr Seleka said.
Mr Seleka added that the Johannesburg Bar worked with the LPC prior to his election to the LPC. He pointed out that the council had its first meeting, and he was astonished that the matters that council deals within relation to the legal practitioners where it is expected that the most upholders of the law will be within the legal profession. ‘But you find that in the legal profession there are some of the delinquents some of the members of the profession. And we were looking at the stats of the complaints received by the LPC at provincial level.’ He said the numbers were staggering, about 20 000 complaints that the LPC has received.
Mr Seleka said that daily, the executive committee of the LPC brings application on striking some legal practitioners off the roll. He added that the BLA and other stakeholders in the legal profession should play a role in instilling the culture of adhering to the law. ‘We should be exemplary to not only the public but to our own children, our families who look up to us, go out every day to serve the public. There should not be a scandal after so many years of practising and serving the profession and you are found with your hand in the cookie jar. Where it should not be,’ Mr Seleka added.
The President of the Black Lawyers Association, Nkosana Mvundlela, at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting that was held in Polokwane.
The BLA President, while addressing delegates, said to Mr Seleka that he should perhaps ask the Executive Officer of the LPC, Charity Nzuza what they inherited from the past provincial law societies. He added if Mr Seleka tracks the numbers from then and brings it under the current LPC, he might be able to do a comparative analysis as to whether there is progress being made in the improvement of the behaviour of legal practitioners in general or things are getting worse. Mr Mvundlela said that he would not be comfortable that Mr Seleka’s worry is that the LPC is sitting with 20 000 complaints now, while he does not know what the numbers were six years ago. ‘I will sit comfortably when I am to address the problem in the BLA that asks are the new entrants to the profession being taught better. So that they do not find their hands in those cookie jars. Such that some of these complaints at the LPC, some are not even worth the paper they are written on. Some of them have so much validity that you cannot look away,’ Mr Mvundlela added.
Mr Mvundlela said: ‘I implore you as the new council of the LPC to perhaps look at that and be able to say to the BLA, in the light of this can we help each other to deal with the ethical code and improve the ethical code and in that way, I believe that we will make a difference. And trust me for as long as I am a member of the BLA, I will take up the challenge. I will wake up every day and hope that I am teaching people the correct things at my law firm, and we have lesser complaints.’
Other speakers at the cocktail function included former Vice President of the BLA, judge in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Judge Mabaeng Lenyai and member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for finance in the Limpopo Province, Tshepo Nkwe.
Kgomotso Ramotsho Cert Journ (Boston) Cert Photography (Vega) is the news reporter at De Rebus.
