RAF attacks law firm

WARNING: CEO CLAIMS IT IS PART OF A CAMPAIGN TO 'CAPTURE' THE FUND

- Roy Cokayne

A firm of attorneys and an emeritus professor in the department of private law at the University of Pretoria have come under attack for being part of a campaign to "capture" the fund.

Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo on Thursday singled out Gert Nel of Gert Nel Attorneys Inc, which handles RAF claims for road accident victims, and Prof Hennie Klopper, who is also a legal practitioner at HB Klopper Attorney in Pretoria, during a media conference.

He referred to Nel as an "imposter" and claimed Nel's attacks on the RAF had reached a crescendo over the past two weeks when he published an "open letter" that was followed by a media blitz on a radio station and "self-serving articles disguised as news in two newspapers".

"Soliloquies and prophesy"

"In all his soliloquies, in which he never misses an opportunity to warn about an impending 'crash of the Road Accident Fund', the common thread is the shameless lies he spews about the RAF.

"In the doomsday scenario that Nel prophesies, the RAF 'struggles with severe operational and financial crises', which he blames on the current [RAF] board and executive management," Letsoalo said.

He claimed Nel was against the transformation initiatives of the RAF and its turnaround strategy.

He said Gert Nel Attorneys had from 2019 to 2024 been paid out more than R2.2 billion in claims.

"Put simply, Nel has become very rich milking the RAF. Any change in the RAF status disrupts the gravy train that benefits him and his colleagues.

"The most offending part of this transformation to Nel is the RAF Amendment Bill, which seeks to remove the participation of attorneys in the claims process.

"If this is achieved, which we as the RAF are determined to do, it would wipe away Nel's cash cow and primary source of income.