Bereaved fiance promotes road safety.

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After losing his fiancee in a tragic road accident in the Sesriem area almost two years ago, Moroccan businessman and founder of the Mayte Hernandez Foundation, Jean-Charles Hayoz decided to assist the MVA Fund to produce an international road safety brochure in honour of her memory.

The pocket-size brochure covers the Namibian road network with particular emphasis on local conditions and risk factors. It is available in English, Spanish, German, Italian and French.

The brochure outlines tips for self-driving tourist who are not familiar with Namibian road conditions to make informed decisions about driving safety throughout the country.

Speaking at the launch of the brochure this week, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Hon Netumbo Nandi-Ndeituah said it has become a national campaign to make Namibian roads safe.

She said road accidents are not planned and that it is a phenomenon not only in Namibia but world wide.

The Mayte Hernander Foundation has invested N$900,000 for the printing and distribution of 100,000 brochures per year for the next five years. The first 100,000 brochures are ready for shipping and will be distributed throughout Europe through the Namibia Tourism Board as well as Namibian Embassies worldwide.

Recalling the events of the fateful day in November 2010, Hayoz said his fiance, Mayte Hernandez had told him, the area was a beautiful place to die in just before the accident happened.

He said, it was the first time he drove on a gravel road and did not know that they had to look out for animals at night. When he went back to Europe, he decided that Mayte did not die for nothing so he teamed up with the MVA Fund to educate tourists about the beauty of Namibia, and the risks of driving in the wild.

Also speaking at the launch, the Minister of Works and Transport, Erkki Nghimtina, said there are two factors which prominently stand out amongst the many factors contributing to road crashes, i.e. the road texture and the beautiful scenery which include the wild animals.

"Our roads particularly gravel roads can be unpredictable", he said.

BY LORATO KHOBETSI

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