Parliament hears how Benoni hospital shut down due to R300m it's owed by RAF

Parliament’s inquiry into maladministration at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) has heard how the former Sunshine Hospital in Benoni shut down twice, the second time for good, over the more than R300 million it is owed by the fund. 

The hospital’s owner and CEO Kenneth Ford said the hospital’s relationship with the fund soured in 2020 when the fund accused it of submitting fraudulent claims. 

For years, the hospital had an agreement with the fund to accept road accident victims for direct payment as an alternative to being treated in overburdened State facilities. 

Sunshine Hospital first closed its doors in April 2023 over non-payment by the RAF, briefly re-opening that same year, before its final closure in June this year. 

Ford said by the end of last month – 6,285 summonses have been issued for the RAF to settle its debt, and 647 judgments handed down by the courts, none of which have been paid. 

Interest on the outstanding debt stands at more than R23 million. 

Ford said an investigation was initiated by the fund in 2020 into alleged corruption by the hospital.

“Their final conclusion which is the last page of that report, it confirms that they found nothing, and we are now five years down the line and we still don’t get paid.”

Ford said if it were not for the debt owing by the RAF, the hospital would still be functional, and the 170 staff would not have lost their jobs. 

He said it’s been futile to attach the RAF’s property in lieu of the debt, since it doesn’t cover even a fraction of what is owed to the now-defunct hospital.