The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa, has told the Portfolio Committee on Transport that the department has decided to appeal a Supreme Court of Appeals ruling on foreign nationals claiming from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
The Court of Appeals found that the Road Accident Fund Act includes all road users and therefore the RAF cannot refuse the claims of foreign nationals, depending on refugee status.
The department and the Road Transport Management Corporation (RTMC) were in Parliament to brief the committee on 2026 Easter road fatalities.
Mr Hlengwa said he believed that other considerations should have been taken into account when making such a ruling. “We believe it was a wrong ruling, and the court could have applied laws of restriction, even if the department could have been required to provide some rights like healthcare provisioning.” He said he was hopeful that the appeal will find in their favour.
As for Easter fatalities, the committee heard that there was a 5% decrease in fatalities. However, pedestrians remain vulnerable, especially in the metros.
Mr Hlengwa also mentioned that the Department of Transport has established a working group on transport register numbers (TRNs). This comes in the wake of a Home Affairs investigation which found that close to a million foreign nationals have attained TRNs fraudulently, using them as visas to stay in the country. Mr Hlengwa noted his preference to scrap TRNs but the department will brief the committee on the matter once a decision has been made.
Alcohol still plays a decisive role in road accident fatalities, both for drivers and pedestrians, Mr Hlengwa noted.
In addition, both the department and the RTMC noted that drivers receive light sentences for transgressions, as the courts do not take traffic offences seriously enough. Mr Hlengwa said that offenders are released too quickly and traffic fines are low. However, he hopes that the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences will be a more effective deterrent.
Sibongile Maputi
11 June 2026
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