With over 5 550 children currently receiving financial support from the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund for loss of support following the deaths of their parents in road accidents, the Fund has raised concern that the misappropriation of the funds by care givers of the minors.
MVA Fund Northern Regional Manger Kite Nkala told a workshop in Francistown last week that care givers, being the surviving parent or guardian misuse funds meant to maintain and support the minors. The prevalence of this trend is worrisome and leaves the children neglected.
“We have had instances where we have had to change care givers for the children. Misuse of these funds is prevalent among young parents or guardians. In the young ladies, they spend the money on things that are not related to the welfare the children. In short they are reckless,” explained Nkala.
He said should the trend continue, MVA fund will have to consider legal action, such as dragging the care givers to court.
Nkala said the scenario is striking different with older women who are left as guardians of the orphans. “If the children are left in the care of grandmothers, the money is used honestly for the welfare of their grandchildren. They rarely misuse the money.”
“The money which MVA fund disburses is meant solely to be spent and cater for the needs of the child whose parent or parents died in a road accident. Not to pay rent and other needs not related to the minor’s welfare. These needs such as clothes, food, anything to do with the child, not rent or to extend the family house of the surviving parent or guardian.”
Nkala said another challenge MVA Fund faces are conflicts by members of the deceased fighting for the loss of support funds. Another sticky issue is fraudulent marriages, solely for the purpose to claim funds as a spouse.
Currently 888 spouses are claiming for support from MVA Fund. While 962 parents are getting financial support because their children who were bread winners and looking after them died in incidents of road carnage. These make up 13 percent of the total claimants MVA fund supports currently.
“We have women who come to our offices claiming to have been married customarily to the deceased and women being married after the death of the father of the child. But as we carry out our investigations we establish anomalies and inconsistencies in these customary marriages. So cases of fraud are also common,” highlighted Nkala.
“I urge the public to desist from such practices, because when we come across cases of fraud we now approach the courts of law to take their course. MVA Fund also has the right to claim back the funds from those who have benefitted illegally.”
Another scenario highlighted is of spouses who have been getting income, remarrying but continue to benefit from MVA Fund.
“In the event one remarries, one is supposed to notify us that they now have a new spouse, then we terminate the benefit. But what we see is women continuing to receive the money while they have someone who financially supporting them,” he explained. Annually MVA Fund spends more than P200 million as payments for claimants.
