MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

RAF on the Road again

By

October Transport Month reaches its climax this weekend when Road Accident Fund (RAF) takes its flagship campaign on the road in four provinces.

Led by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, her Deputy Sindisiwe Chikunga, and RAF CEO Dr Eugene Watson, the ‘RAF on the Road’ event will take place at the Lillian Ngoyi Indoor Sports Centre, Mbilini Street in KwaZakhele, Port Elizabeth. Three other events will will run concurrently on Saturday 11 October from 06h00 to 18h00 in Giyani (Limpopo), Alexandra Township (Gauteng) and Mfuleni (Cape Town), supported by live television and radio broadcasts.

This campaign has been a highly recognised brand with groundbreaking achievements in public service delivery, reaching thousands of people countrywide. Key milestones include creating access to services through the opening of new offices in the Northern Cape (Kimberley), Limpopo (Polokwane), North West (Mahikeng) and Free State (Bloemfontein).

This expansion of RAF’s geographic footprint is in addition to the existing network of 83 Hospital Service Centers (HSC) housed in government hospitals. “These offices provide physical access to road accident victims, who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to interact face-to-face with RAF consultants without travelling long distances to the nearest regional offices,” said Minister Peters during the recent RAF office launch in Kimberley.

Since March 2012, a total of 40 communities across the country were visited, 685 people were attended to in makeshift offices on Saturdays, 27 439 claimants were assisted nationally, and R591 million worth of claims were paid directly to claimants. According to Dr Watson, RAF’s aim is to expand communication, improve access, care, rehabilitate crash victims, and accelerate the claims process of those adversely affected by the scourge of road crashes.

To date one in four claimants now come directly to lodge claims, 364 claimants walk through our Hospital Service Centre’s (HSCs), and an average of 40 consultations are recorded at Customer Service Centres on a daily basis. This has brought much needed relief and socio-economic balance amongst claimants and families torn apart by road crashes.

Lenka Damazane, a fashion designer in Welkom (Free State) was able to realise his dreams with monies paid to him by RAF. “I took part of the money to register myself for fashion designing at Motheo FET College,” said Damazane, who now runs a thriving small business.

1On 11 October, eligible community members will be encouraged to claim directly with the Fund, thus saving them unnecessary contingency fees and disproving the old notion that they can only claim through a representative.

Free public transport to the venue will also be provided to community members wishing to get assistance from the RAF.

They will also be educated about the RAF, assisted with claims enquiries, completion of claim forms and provided with support to rehabilitate survivors.

As part of the build up to these OTM activities, road safety education and awareness aimed at promoting compliance to traffic rules, changing road users’ behaviour, and curbing the escalating rate of accidents and fatalities will also be offered over three days. This includes defensive driving training to 100 public transport drivers, road safety awareness campaigns in taxi ranks, and the provision of cycling helmets to leaners at the main ‘RAF on the Road’ event in Giyani.

The Department of Transport will also hand over 100 bicycles and helmets to learners as part of its Shova Kalula bicycles for school kids project at a media briefing. The project targets users in most disadvantaged rural and urban settings who currently have to walk long distances to get to school.

RAF CEO Dr Watson hereby cordially invites you to attend the event in your respective provinces in order to utilise this opportunity to meet RAF’s key stakeholders and understand the Fund’s mandate over the transition period to the Road Accident Benefit Scheme.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.

Reader Interactions

Comments