BY BANELE MAGONGO
MBABANE – Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF), commonly known as the MVA, has pledged to back the national road safety strategy to alleviate road accidents.
The strategy was launched last year by the Road Safety Council, with the aim of finding innovative ways to improve road safety and deliver tangible results.
The pledge was made by the SMVAF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Mfanimpela Myeni yesterday (Wednesday, August 1, 2024) at Happy Valley Hotel in Ezuwlini. This was during the SMVAF Road Injury Prevention Indaba 2024, when making his welcoming remarks.
Myeni conveyed his gratitude for the cooperation and support the organisation was receiving from the various stakeholders in the road safety domain, led by the Road Safety Council. He confirmed SMVAF’s wholehearted endorsement of the national road safety strategy, as proposed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and pledged the organisation’s commitment to the implementation and success of the strategy.
In his statement, the SMVAF CEO emphasised that most road injuries could be prevented with the right interventions, which is why, as part of the road safety value chain, the organisation has chosen to collaborate with stakeholders to find solutions to the challenges plaguing Eswatini’s roads.
“Our Funeral Benefit Claims have increased significantly, indicating that we are burying more Emaswati from road crashes. We therefore realised the urgent need to come out and declare that no one should be the next victim from the road crashes,” he said.
Citing a tragic incident where 27 people were injured and three lost their lives in a road accident within a week, the CEO illustrated the gravity of the situation on Eswatini’s roads. He pointed out that the increasing funeral benefit payments extended to accident victims were a clear indication to SMVAF of the urgent need to implement measures that would mitigate the devastating impact of road accidents.
Myeni outlined the primary objective of the Indaba as an opportunity to establish a shared understanding of the road crash injury situation in Eswatini. He explained that SMVAF’s mandate was to examine the data and analyse the issue in order to develop effective solutions in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, particularly in the area of enforcement, which they believed to be an essential element in tackling the problem.
Myeni went on to highlight the inclusion of judiciary experts as a crucial component of the Indaba’s discussions, emphasising that accidents often occurred due to non-adherence to road safety regulations. By understanding the legal implications of such violations, SMVAF could collaborate with relevant stakeholders to strengthen existing regulations and reinforce law enforcement efforts to ensure road safety.
