OUTA welcomes decision to place RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo on special leave

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) welcomes the decision by the board of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to place its CEO, Collins Letsoalo, on special leave amid mounting allegations of corruption, financial mismanagement, and governance failures during his tenure.

This move is long overdue and reflects the gravity of the allegations against Letsoalo. As OUTA, we have consistently raised red flags about the troubling direction the RAF has taken under his leadership – an entity that holds a critical responsibility to serve the victims of road accidents with efficiency and integrity.

The key concerns we have had and some of which appear to be included in Letsoalo’s disciplinary matter include:

• The controversial R79 million lease for the RAF’s Johannesburg offices, reportedly pushed through in contravention of procurement protocols and flagged in a preliminary report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU);
• The irregular extension of a R19 million cleaning and security contract, which was renewed multiple times over six years without transparent procurement processes;
• The R362 million in irregular expenditure linked to Project Siyenza, an initiative riddled with oversight failures and questionable management decisions;
• Allegations of unauthorised payments exceeding R140 million, made without RAF board approval;
• The appointment of senior executives with checkered records, raising serious concerns about the integrity and due diligence of RAF’s leadership structures.

In addition, it is public knowledge that in 2023, a high court ruling ordered Letsoalo and the RAF board to personally pay legal costs due to their mismanagement in legal proceedings, which is a rare and damning indictment of executive failure. We wonder whether Letsoalo has complied with this ruling.

For years, OUTA and others in civil society have raised alarms about the RAF’s declining performance, spiralling liabilities, and deepening dysfunction. The Fund’s liabilities have now ballooned beyond R300 billion, threatening its long-term viability and undermining its constitutional duty to compensate road accident victims. Furthermore, we know of a number of senior managers who have been unfairly pushed out or exited the RAF on account of pressure applied by Letsoalo.

“Letsoalo’s suspension is not only justified — it’s embarrassingly overdue,” says Stefanie Fick, Executive Director of Accountability at OUTA. “This is someone who was fired from PRASA, yet was given another chance to lead — and failed again. Under his watch, the RAF has spiralled further into disarray.”

During his tenure at the RAF, Letsoalo oversaw ballooning liabilities, a massive backlog of unpaid claims, and a growing legal bill from court battles that often targeted oversight institutions. Shockingly, while the RAF’s finances deteriorated, Letsoalo’s salary increased — a slap in the face to the thousands of victims still waiting for compensation and justice.

OUTA has, over the past several years, published detailed analysis and commentary on the RAF’s governance failures, irregular legal spending, and its increasingly hostile stance toward accountability. Our investigations exposed unsustainable litigation strategies, attempts to sidestep parliamentary oversight, and financial mismanagement that undermined the fund’s mandate.

“It is unacceptable that a failing CEO was rewarded with salary increases while the institution he led crumbled,” says Fick. “This reflects a complete breakdown in accountability.”

While we commend the RAF board for finally taking decisive action, we believe this decision was long overdue and that the board of the RAF has a lot to answer to, for the delays in taking action against Collins Letsoalo. Furthermore, we trust this will be a turning point for the RAF and that the Minister and the board will ensure the necessary professional and highly experienced leadership will replace Letsoalo, and that good governance and stringent oversight by a competent board will get the RAF back on track.

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