Three employees of the Road Accident Fund have been suspended for alleged involvement in corrupt activities regarding claims. And, according to a report in The Sunday Independent, four more employees are in line to be suspended for similar transgressions.

It quotes unnamed sources in the agency as saying employees were taking money from law firms representing claimants to fast track claim payouts while other people have to wait for months, even years, for payouts.

According to the sources describing the modus operandi, RAF employees would hold off on approved claims for months and begin processing them only after receiving as much as R10 000 per claim.

The Sunday Independent says it has seen affidavits deposed by employees of some of the law firms which allege their employers were meeting with RAF employees to give them money to ensure their claims were paid first.

Sources said the practice was disadvantaging ordinary South Africans.

‘Some claimants have to wait for over a year for payment but you have such unscrupulous law firms that pay the amounts and their claims get pushed to the top of the payments list,’ said the source.

RAF chief executive Collins Letsoalo has instituted an investigation and approached the Hawks to look into the matter, according to the report.

RAF spokesperson William Maphuta confirmed the suspension of three employees but declined to comment on the four pending ones. He said the suspensions were motivated by information received from whistle-blowers.

‘We have received information from whistle-blowers as stated above providing prima facie cases of corruption involving among others what you raised,’ he is quoted as saying.

Maphuta added that investigations were ongoing, but he could not confirm how many other people would be suspended.

Full report in The Sunday Independent (subscription needed)