RAF is a mess – parly

HOT SEAT: SENIOR BOSSES HAULED OVER COALS FOR BIG SPENDING >>→ Marketing budget of R100 000 now runs at R650m.

- Sipho Mabena

A man pushes a woman holding a placard about medical neglect and corruption past symbolic body bags outside the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space in Berlin, Germany, to demand more support for chronic long Covid patients.

(Picture: Getty Images)

Road Accident Fund (RAF) senior executives have been at pains to account for millions spent on two marketing contracts with a combined R1-billion price tag with over R600 million spent in two years.

Parliament's standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) yesterday demanded proof of delivery, value for money, as well as overspending from the agency's communications head, McIntosh Polela and suspended marketing manager, Hlami Mathye.

At the heart of the inquiry are five-year contracts awarded to media marketing firms MediaMix360 and Dzinge Production for R500 million each, running until November 2027, and December 2028, respectively.

The annual budget for each contract was set at R100 000 but by June, a combined R650 million had been spent on questionable marketing campaigns, including a R26-million SABC "misaligned" ad.