Stefanus Nashama
The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) inaugurated a new service centre in Katima Mulilo.
The new facility was constructed at a cost of approximately N$11 million.
On Thursday, Jane Iikela, a senior corporate communications practitioner at the MVA, explained that the service centre offers claims queries, submissions, and hospital case management visits to injured patients in the hospital.
The MVA also operates the Divundu Emergency Medical Response Base, located between Rundu and Katima Mulilo, which provides emergency medical response services between the two towns.
The centre was inaugurated last week by deputy prime minister and minister of works and transport, John Mutorwa.
Mutorwa said the facility represents the MVA Fund’s readiness to assist the government in ensuring all Namibians have access to services.
“The inauguration of a fully functional service centre in Katima Mulilo elevates the degree of access to services that have been there for a number of years for the entire Zambezi region,” said the minister.
Mutorwa expressed his best wishes for the MVA Fund’s success in expanding its presence to all fourteen regions of the country.
He mentioned that as a statutory organ of the government, the fund fulfils its patriotic duty by prudently dispensing relevant benefit claims to individuals affected by road crashes, whether through injury, fatality, or as dependents of those who lose their lives in such accidents.
Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, MVA Fund chief executive officer, said the centre marks the organisation’s permanence in the region.
This, she said, fulfils the Fund’s mandate of serving as a trusted social safety net for all individuals injured in road accidents and dependents of those killed in motor vehicle crashes.
“Regional proximity to our services is very important. It is one that cannot be completely replaced by artificial intelligence or digitalisation,” said Martins-Hausiku.
Although the office is new, MVA Fund has been operational in Katima Mulilo for many years now, but in rented offices at various locations.
She mentioned that the facilities were not suitable, so they decided to build a new building to meet various client needs.
Additionally, Martins-Hausiku said the office allows the MVA Fund to offer services to the people of this region.
“As the saying goes, to whom much is given, much is required. It is our collective responsibility as employees of the MVA Fund, members of the community and visitors of this office to take care of this office so that it benefits the current and future generations. This is our building, let us take good care of it,” she said.
