The Road Accident Fund’s failure to make payment to Hospicare is exacerbating the trauma of traffic accidents victims, because the entity now faces eviction for unpaid bills of R21m, according to lawyers representing the building’s owner President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a statement in Politics Web, the DA’s shadow minister of transport Chris Hunsinger writes that the crisis reflects the severe financial difficulties that led to the closure of Sunshine Hospital in Gauteng in April 2023, also because of the RAF’s failure to disperse due payments.
The statement says these vital healthcare facilities enable the RAF to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities, being obligated to provide the most disadvantaged with access to social security and essential healthcare services, including sub-acute, renal and frail care.
Already operating on very tight budgets, the RAF’s failure to make even one payment, despite approval from National Treasury, increases stress for everyone involved at the facility, from patients and doctors to cleaners, and could collapse the entire entity.
Unlike emergency treatment centres, these facilities also lack the specific equipment needed to adequately address medical care for vehicle-related injuries. Many patients require specialised medication, which cannot be obtained because the RAF is not paying for it.
The situation worsens as communication breakdown persists, according to the DA statement.
Promises made by the RAF are followed up with silence, and its financial mismanagement, coupled with reluctance to engage with creditors, now threatens the welfare of patients and accident victims, it said.
"The government's lack of response to victims potentially being left homeless must not be tolerated.
The president continues to press for Hospicare’s rent payments instead of holding the RAF accountable… and it is unacceptable that the RAF’s cash flow crisis has compromised patient welfare and hindered access to essential healthcare and treatment.
As the leader overseeing all SOEs, the President must be held accountable," writes Hunsinger.
Politics Web article – RAF non-payment risks lives of victims – Chris Hunsinger (Open access)
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