Windhoek
President Hage Geingob met yesterday with the management team and board members of the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund at State House, an opportunity used by the parastatal to report on its steadily improving financial position.
MVA CEO Rosalia Martins-Hausiku informed Geingob that despite the financial troubles it faced over the years, the Fund has managed to reduce its accumulated deficit from N$531million to N$107 million.
Its asset value has also seen a significant increase over the past five years, having increased from N$137 million in 2010 to N$659 in 2015, while the parastatal’s revenue increased from N$245 million to N$541 million over the same period.
The meeting, which was attended by several Cabinet ministers, aimed to update the president on the performance of the Fund and to share the MVA’s strategic plan for 2014-2019 with him.
Martins-Hausiku also pointed out some positive developments, such as the opening of a spinal cord rehabilitation unit at Windhoek Central Hospital, in partnership with Ministry of Health and the Spinalis Foundation of Sweden in September 2013, as well as the establishment of an Emergency Medical Care Department at the Polytechnic of Namibia, for which purpose 69 bursaries were granted at the cost of over N$6.6 million.
“In order to sustain [our operations] we need to have a strong focus on financial performance, measured by operating surpluses. Every year we set a target agreed upon by the board. By March 2016 we should present N$110 million in terms of operating surplus,” she said.
Geingob congratulated the MVA delegation on a job well done, but warned them against complacency. “We like condemning and crying, but we hardly congratulate ourselves when we do something right,” said Geingob, who remarked that the efficiency of government is one of the reasons the public complains when things are not going right.
“We are victims of our efficiency and you see that we are condemned mainly because we are very open,” he said.
The MVA also reported an increase in accidents during peak-hour traffic, limited specialised medical practitioners and facilities, as well as the need to develop the capacity of emergency medical rescue services countrywide as some of its biggest challenges.
The CEO singled out road crashes as the single biggest challenge facing the MVA. “When road crashes occur it affects MVA the most, because we have to treat, rehabilitate and pay for those who perished in the crashes,” she said.
Martins-Hausiku described the ever-increasing number of road accidents as a “daunting task” that needs to be attended to. From 2010 to August 23 this year 33 591 people were injured in 19 285 road crashes and no less than 3 341 people lost their lives as a result of car crashes during the said period.
Financial information provided by the MVA indicates that it spent over N$1.1 billion on 20 893 benefit claims since 2010.
Martins-Hausiku said most of the time public health facilities are not well-resourced in terms of staff and facilities to treat patients, a situation which forces the MVA to fork out extra to have the patients treated at private facilities. “With increases in medical costs, we thought it would be prudent to establish a trauma centre. That is the process we are currently busy with. It will go a long way in managing the cost of treatment,” she said.
She added that the planned trauma centre would be on par with similar facilities in Lesotho, Turkey and South Africa.
The meeting also discussed the fact that currently people transported on the back of pick-up trucks are hit with payment limitations, whereby about 50 percent of their claim from the MVA is deducted. This arrangement worried Geingob, who pointed out that it disadvantages people in the rural areas who do not always have the luxury of being able to use sedans.
The Minister of Public Enterprises, Leon Jooste, wanted to know why there has been such a significant increase in the MVA’s wage bill, which increased from N$31 million in 2010 to N$83 million this year. The MVA’s chief financial officer, James Nyandoro, attributed the steep increase mainly to a larger staff compliment.
Board chairperson Dr Zandile Erkana led the MVA delegation.