Busy time for MVA Fund

THE Motor Vehicle Accident Fund has been busy over the Christmas season, which was marked by the death of 78 people on Namibia’s roads.

According to the Manager of Corporate Affairs at the MVA Fund, Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, the three biggest accidents to receive quick response from the fund during the season were the minibus crash near Grootfontein, a bakkie that overturned on the road between Otavi and Otjiwarongo and recently an accident which happened 20 km out of Windhoek involving a car carrying two Indian families. The MVA Fund’s quick-response mechanism comes into play whenever two or more people are seriously injured or dead from an accident on Namibian roads.In the Grootfontein minibus accident the fund paid out N$7 000 to cover the funeral costs of each of 17 people who died and spent a further N$80 000 airlifting the bodies to Katima Mulilo and Zimbabwe.After the Otavi accident, the Fund also paid out N$7 000 per funeral to cover the burial costs of nine people.The Fund will pay for transporting the remains from that accident once the families of the victims claim from the fund.As for the accident outside Windhoek in which eight people died, seven times N$7 000 was paid out for funeral expenses.Six of the dead were Indian nationals and the cost of repatriating their remains proved to be more than the N$20 000 limit placed on the Fund by the MVA Fund Bill of 2006.According to Martins-Hausiku, the Indian High Commissioner stepped in to cover the extra amount needed to transport the remains back to India.She stressed that the fund does not discriminate but covers anyone injured or killed while travelling by road within Namibia, provided that the accident can be proven to have occurred due to fault or negligence of the driver or owner of the vehicle and that the vehicle was refuelled somewhere within the country before the accident.A driver who was at fault for causing an accident may not claim from the Fund.Martins-Hausiku could not provide figures on the total claims made in 2006 or illustrate how the MVA Fund has been affected by the high number of accidents in December.She said the figures were still being calculated and the results could be expected later this month or in the final report, which will be released next month.Apart from the quick-response payments made by the Fund, it also honours claims for general damages, funeral expenses, future loss of income and past loss of income, future and past medical expenses as well as future and past loss of support, as long as the claims criteria are met and the claim is made within three years of the accident.Minors are an exception to this rule and can submit claims until they reach the age of 21.Currently the MVA Fund is waiting on reports from the Namibian Police and the International SOS (ISOS) rescue agency to establish how many accidents took place last year and to compile their report for 2007.The MVA Fund went into partnership with ISOS in November last year and together the two have set up a phone-number for use when anyone wants to report an accident.The number is 081 9682.The Fund has also embarked on a road-safety campaign called ‘Xupifa Eemwenyo’, which ends on January 17.The campaign was aimed at reducing fatal road accidents, improving medical response, particularly within the golden hour after the accident, and creating awareness of road safety among road users.Martins-Hausiku said it is still too early to tell whether the campaign has been a success.The MVA Fund’s quick-response mechanism comes into play whenever two or more people are seriously injured or dead from an accident on Namibian roads.In the Grootfontein minibus accident the fund paid out N$7 000 to cover the funeral costs of each of 17 people who died and spent a further N$80 000 airlifting the bodies to Katima Mulilo and Zimbabwe.After the Otavi accident, the Fund also paid out N$7 000 per funeral to cover the burial costs of nine people.The Fund will pay for transporting the remains from that accident once the families of the victims claim from the fund.As for the accident outside Windhoek in which eight people died, seven times N$7 000 was paid out for funeral expenses.Six of the dead were Indian nationals and the cost of repatriating their remains proved to be more than the N$20 000 limit placed on the Fund by the MVA Fund Bill of 2006.According to Martins-Hausiku, the Indian High Commissioner stepped in to cover the extra amount needed to transport the remains back to India.She stressed that the fund does not discriminate but covers anyone injured or killed while travelling by road within Namibia, provided that the accident can be proven to have occurred due to fault or negligence of the driver or owner of the vehicle and that the vehicle was refuelled somewhere within the country before the accident.A driver who was at fault for causing an accident may not claim from the Fund.Martins-Hausiku could not provide figures on the total claims made in 2006 or illustrate how the MVA Fund has been affected by the high number of accidents in December.She said the figures were still being calculated and the results could be expected later this month or in the final report, which will be released next month.Apart from the quick-response payments made by the Fund, it also honours claims for general damages, funeral expenses, future loss of income and past loss of income, future and past medical expenses as well as future and past loss of support, as long as the claims criteria are met and the claim is made within three years of the accident.Minors are an exception to this rule and can submit claims until they reach the age of 21.Currently the MVA Fund is waiting on reports from the Namibian Police and the International SOS (ISOS) rescue agency to establish how many accidents took place last year and to compile their report for 2007.The MVA Fund went into partnership with ISOS in November last year and together the two have set up a phone-number for use when anyone wants to report an accident.The number is 081 9682.The Fund has also embarked on a road-safety campaign called ‘Xupifa Eemwenyo’, which ends on January 17.The campaign was aimed at reducing fatal road accidents, improving medical response, particularly within the golden hour after the accident, and creating awareness of road safety among road users.Martins-Hausiku said it is still too early to tell whether the campaign has been a success.