SCOPA hears former RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo gave rise to culture of fear among managers

A former human capital executive at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) has told Parliament that former CEO Collins Letsoalo’s leadership gave rise to a culture of fear among managers.

Testifying before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), which is probing financial misconduct at the fun,d Ian Barriel alleged that employees who appeared not to toe the transformation line at the fund were suspended.

In recent weeks, SCOPA has heard that dozens of RAF employees were suspended under dubious circumstances, and four years later, some disciplinary matters have still not been finalised.

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Barriel, who worked at the RAF for 14 year,s said that Letsoalo insisted that external attorneys be used to conduct investigations and disciplinary hearings against suspended employees.

He said that often it was not the direct line managers who initiated disciplinary proceedings.

"It is true where there was a perceived misconduct by an employee, that there may have been an instruction from an executive, or the CEO to highlight the misconduct."

Barriel also testified that even when employees were cleared by a hearing or the CCMA of wrongdoing, they were blocked from returning to work.

"If I can answer you bluntly, it was because of lack of appetite, to bring back the employee especially if the employee was deemed as anti-transformational."

Questioned by MPs about the time taken to finalise disciplinary matters, Barriel conceded that they take extraordinarily long at the RAF.

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