Omaheke seeks trauma centre for road casualties

GOBABIS, 05 SEP – Omaheke Governor, Festus Ueitele said there is an urgent need for the setting up of a trauma response centre in the region, to offer assistance to road crash casualties.
Ueitele made the call in a speech read on his behalf during a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund stakeholders’ engagement event here on Tuesday.
The event was convened in a bid to bring its services closer to the public and to consult on various issues pertaining to road safety.
Ueitele said despite the Omaheke Region’s relatively small population of less than 76 000 people, the region has on average recorded 340 road casualties per 100 000 persons. This, he said, is much higher than the national average of 304 casualties per 100 000 persons.
The governor also called for stricter law enforcement by the relevant agencies to curtail road accidents and the subsequent loss of lives.
He said despite information and education campaigns on road safety, motorists appear to be reluctant to change their reckless behaviour when on the road.
Ueitele noted that as Gobabis – Omaheke Region’s main economic centre – continues to grow into a preferred link to the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, the surge in traffic in the region calls for stricter control to avoid road crashes.
“The town of Gobabis is growing and so is traffic in the region as people make use of the economically viable Trans-Kalahari route to South Africa instead of the traditional route through southern Namibia. As such, we ought to be ready as a region to enforce the law to control the rise in traffic,” he said.
He said an intervention undertaken on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor during May 2017 by representatives from member states of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, found that at least 114 passengers in vehicles stopped were not wearing seat belts.
It was also found that another 44 children required to be carried in child car seats were not, while 147 cases related to drunk and driving as well as unroadworthy vehicles were recorded, Ueitele said.
He noted that this calls for the acceleration of bilateral agreement with Botswana and South Africa in order to rescue the situation.
Speaking at the same event, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) Chief Executive Officer, Rosalia Martins-Hausiku also sounded the alarm on the high number of accidents on national roads.
She said about 700 people lose their lives annually in accidents across the country, noting that although some consistent decline in accidents have been observed, the figures are still relatively high.
The Omaheke Region is not spared either, the MVA Fund Chief Executive Officer said, as 60 percent of accidents involving vehicles rolling over were recorded in the region.
This made roll-overs the most common type of crash reported in Omaheke, followed by accidents involving pedestrians at 15 per cent of the total accidents reported in the region, she said.
Crashes involving pick-ups, buses and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), topped the chart in the region.
“While statistics further indicate that Omaheke represents only three per cent of injuries nationally, it is important to note that this percentage represents people who require adequate medical rehabilitative care,” Martins-Hausiku said. – NAMPA