One CEO spent R23 million of taxpayer money on his personal security

Former Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo reportedly spent over R23 million on personal security for himself and his family between 2023 and 2025.

This was revealed to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which is currently investigating corruption within the RAF.

The RAF, a South African state insurer that provides cover for road accidents, is primarily funded by a fuel levy collected on every litre of petrol and diesel sold in the country, collecting a whooping R48 billion last year.

However, as SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi has said: “It is in turmoil, and the financial rot of the entity is deep,” prompting a full parliamentary probe.

Information requested by the committee revealed that Letsoalo had been spending millions on “creating a private army for himself.”

Salaries for his close protection officers alone cost R7.2 million over the three-year period, while operational costs totalled just over R16 million.

The cumulative operational expenditure on these CPOs since 2021 amounts to over R20 million.

“It is totally outrageous that the former CEO of the Road Accident Fund, Collins Letsoalo, has a private army protecting him and his wife,” ActionSA MP Alan Beesley, a member of SCOPA, told Newsday.

“The cost increased from R480 000, to which he was initially entitled, to close to R8 million a year. The Board was manipulated and sleeping whilst earning massive fees, and they must be held to account.”

“The reality is that all South Africans have paid for this exorbitant amount through the fuel levy, and at a time when claim payouts have reduced to a trickle,” he added.

Beesley added that roughly R4.6 million has been spent on an armoured BMW X5 vehicle, forming part of his security detail in 2024.

The Sunday Times reported that Letsoalo had also been given eight Golf GTIs valued at between R800,000 and R1 million each.

The RAF’s head of security, Stephens Msiza, told SCOPA that despite procuring the BMW, Letsoalo instructed that his security convoy be kept so that someone could open the boom at his girlfriend’s residence.

“Without a threat assessment being done, the RAF (taxpayers) also paid for a security escort for the CEO’s wife and kids, running errands etc, all paid for by the RAF,” said Zibi.

“We will be asking the relevant previous boards to account soon.”

Abuse of power

In addition to the alleged abuse of taxpayer funds to support his army of close protection officers, it has also been alleged that he exploited his authority over them.

On 5 November, that he had observed several “irregular and concerning operational practices that deviated from the conditions of employment.”

This included instructing them to report to his residence early in the morning, where they would remain outside for the entire day, “often under harsh weather conditions” and without access to ablutions.

Msiza described how Letsoalo began appointing members in the security department without consulting him, eventually directing it to report to someone else, who then created new positions for these appointees.

“CPOs raised repeated complaints about being instructed to perform duties unrelated to their security function, including farm work such as fetching equipment, watering livestock, and transporting farm materials,” he said.

The RAF head of security explained that they would often perform tasks such as replacing tyres on Letsoalo’s personal farm in Limpopo.

SCOPA Chairperson Songezo Zibi said that “the convoy cost R1.7 million in fuel alone.”

Msiza explained that when he disagreed with Letsoalo about unnecessary demands, such as disregarding approved specifications and cost guidelines for vehicle rentals, he would be accused of compromising the former CEO’s security.

“These incidents collectively demonstrate abuse of authority and misappropriation of security resources,” he said.

“They further justify the urgent need for review and accountability concerning the conduct of the former CEO and the misuse of state resources under his direction.”

Letsoalo at the RAF

Letsoalo’s first major appointment at a state-owned entity was in 2016, when he was tasked with turning around the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

However, this appointment only lasted a few months after it was discovered that he had given himself a 350% salary increase from R1.4 million to R5.3 million, which he claimed was approved by the board.

He was eventually dismissed in early 2017 and ordered to repay the additional salary he had earned over the period.

Letsoalo was seconded from the Department of Transport as the Acting CEO of the RAF in September 2019, while serving as Director-General of the department.

He was then officially appointed as the CEO of the entity in 2020, tasked with tackling longstanding operational inefficiencies and claims backlogs.

In 2021, he invited the Special Investigating Unit to probe the RAF for corruption.

SCOPA then launched an inquiry into the RAF’s financial mismanagement at the end of 2024. Within a few months, Letsoalo was placed on special leave amid an investigation by the SIU.

He was then suspended in June for insubordination after failing to appear before SCOPA.

His contract officially expired on 6 August, and the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, confirmed that he had officially departed from the entity a few days later.

He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, saying that the security was essential as he and his family “were being targeted.”

Letsoalo also alleged that there is a conspiracy against him, orchestrated by the media and lawyers.