LIMPOPO – A GOGO of 88 years says she feels like she has hit a brick wall when it comes to receiving her dues from the Road Accident Fund (RAF), which, she says, has threatened to dump her claim.
Rosina Tshinakaho Makondelele of Itsani village near Thohoyandou sustained multiple fractures in both legs when the taxi she was travelling in was involved in an accident near Thohoyandou on August 23, 2011.
Her injuries were so serious that after being taken to the Tshilidzini Hospital, she was transferred to the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital and thereafter to the Mankweng Hospital where she eventually had to undergo surgery during which some bones had to be replaced and joined with metal.
“After all the surgery, I was taken back to Tshilidzini Hospital where I completed RAF claim forms, for which I had to pay R520. At the time I was discharged from hospital, I was still unable to stand up or walk and I remained bedridden at home for three months.
“My daughter had to assist me – she even had to push me in a wheelchair to go to the toilet,” the 88-year-old told CV.
Makondelele’s daughter, Josephine Madavha, said the RAF issued a certificate and told her mother to produce it when she went to the doctor, as the doctor would then treat her free of charge, but this did not happen.
Madavha said none of the doctors would treat her mother if they were not paid in cash. “All the doctors refused to treat her, saying the RAF did not pay them,” Madavha said.
Following this, they were sent from pillar to post to try and resolve the matter with the RAF and get the necessary treatment for Makondelele. Even though the problem was explained to the RAF official based at the Tshilidzini Hospital, nothing was solved.
During an RAF roadshow in Thohoyandou in 2013, Makondelele and her daughter met with an RAF official, identified to them only as Fraser. “He said he couldn’t do anything for my mother and referred us to another official, Dorcas Makhubele, who was not available on that specific day,” Madavha explained.
Madavha said they contacted Fraser telephonically to enquire about the claim. “This time, he told us to go and get letters from all the doctors who treated her, including the one from the Tshilidzini Hospital. We provided the RAF with all the letters and also the x-rays,” Madavha explained.
Last year the desperate 88-year-old attended another RAF roadshow in Thohoyandou where she was referred to yet another RAF official, Constance Tshivhase, who promised to capture everything on the computer system. Makondelele was told that the RAF would make an appointment with a doctor for her, and promised to keep in touch. Tshivhase said Makondelele would have to collect all the relevant paperwork that was in Fraser’s possession, and bring it to her.
“We phoned Fraser several times but he ignored our calls. We eventually managed to get hold of him and were made more empty promises about a doctor’s appointment. In February this year, he was ignoring us again and we were then handed over to a RAF official known to us only as Sizwe. Last Friday we were shocked when we received a phone call from Frazer who threatened to dump my mother’s claim because he was tired of receiving our phone calls. We still don’t know why the RAF failed to make a doctor’s appointment for my mother.
There is corruption at the RAF and their Batho Pele principles are just on paper,” an angry Madavha told CV.
RAF spokesperson, Sello Mosotho, requested CV to submit its enquiry in writing on Monday, which was done via e-mail. On Tuesday, Mosotho replied that “pursuant to our conversation this afternoon (Tuesday) and the e-mail (below) kindly be advised that we are still preparing a response. The response will be sent to you tomorrow (Wednesday)”.
