A revised version of the Road Accident Benefit Scheme (RABS) has been published by the Department of Transport. The public has 60 days to submit their comments.
The Bill proposes that the Road Accident Fund be replaced by the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Administrator. In a statement, the department said the Bill, including the RABS Regulations and the draft RABS Rules and Forms of the Road Accident Fund Board, was published in the Government Gazette No. 37612 on 9 May 2014. The revised version of the Bill was drafted following an earlier version which was published in February. The department said new regulations, rules and forms were drafted to enable a better understanding of how the proposed scheme would operate in practice. The RABS Bill provides for a new no-fault benefit scheme and a new Administrator called the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Administrator (RABSA), which will replace the current Road Accident Fund and compensation system administered by it. “In terms of a fundamental overhaul, the legislation proposes that the RAF be replaced by the RABSA and that the current adversarial system be replaced with a scheme which is based on principles of social security and social solidarity. “The key change proposed by the draft legislation is a move away from the insurance based system of compensation which has been largely unchanged in South Africa since its inception in 1946, to a system of defined and structured benefits,” said the department. The RABS Bill forms part of an initiative to replace the third party compensation system currently administered by the RAF with a new scheme that is reasonable, equitable, affordable and sustainable. The Bill, regulations, rules and forms are available from the Government Printer and on the websites of the Department of Transport and the Road Accident Fund at www.transport.gov.za and www.raf.co.za. Written comments on the Bill and RABS Regulations can be submitted via e-mail to rabsbill@dot.gov.za or addressed to: The Director-General Department of Transport Private Bag X193 PRETORIA0001
E-mail: KgantsiK@dot.gov.za Tel: 012 309 3917 or 012 309 3476 Fax: 012 309 3502 Written comments on the draft RABS rules and forms can be submitted via e-mail to RABS-Rules@raf.co.za or addressed to: The Senior Manager: Regulation Road Accident Fund Private Bag X178 CENTURION 0046 E-mail: chrisw@raf.co.za Tel: 012 621 1833 Fax: 012 621 1640 Source – SAnews.gov.za
