Rudolf Gaiseb
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) collaborated with the home affairs ministry on a five-day workshop during which the partners discussed rolling out digital legal identity in Namibia.
Through focus group discussions, initiatives will be implemented in Namibia once necessary policies and instruments are established.
The workshop was held in Windhoek last week.
The discussions focused on civil registration, vital statistics, identity management and advancing inclusivity in Namibia.
The experts explored the potential of digital solutions to streamline identity management processes, enhance data security and broaden access to services for all citizens.
Additionally, they gave special attention to the intersection of legal identity and women’s empowerment and inclusion, with participants engaging in discussions to address gender disparities in identity documentation.
Recognising the importance of legal digital identity in the context of Namibia’s Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, the discussions highlighted the necessity of effective governance structures to ensure broad access to civil registration and public services for inclusive development.
Key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Justice, the Judiciary, the Office of the Prime Minister, the ministries of finance, health and social services, the National Assembly, civil society, and the Anti-Corruption Commission,participated in the discussions.
In a statement issued to this paper yesterday, home affairs executive director Etienne Maritz highlighted the pivotal role of legal identity.
“Legal identity, often manifested through official documents like national ID cards or passports, is indispensable for citizens to exercise their rights and access essential services such as healthcare, education and social welfare,” he said.
He denoted legal identity as a driver of inclusive development, enabling citizens to fully participate in economic and societal activities, including access to financial services vital for economic mobility.
Moreover, the workshop also examined Namibia’s current civil registration landscape, identifying areas for improvement and sharing innovative strategies to enhance registration coverage and data accuracy.
The ministry of home affairs is currently undertaking a widespread registration campaign for national documents across all 14 regions of Namibia.
This initiative seeks to register individuals who lack national documents but have supporting documents, and those who have lost their documents.
Over 38 000 individuals have acquired their national documents through this mass registration effort, which commenced on 5 February and will end on 30 July 2024.
UNDP Namibia deputy resident representative Christian Shingiro introduced the UNDP model governance framework, designed to facilitate the transition towards digital identification, while safeguarding individual rights through the main components.
“The framework amplifies the need for a whole-of-society approach to address the current challenges around homelessness, and meeting the needs of marginalised communities. While the home affairs’ ministry is doing well on the outreach and special mass registration campaign, there is a need for other ministries to join the digitalisation initiative to find ways to enhance synergism with the ministry,” he said.
Shingiro, responding to a media enquiry, told New Era that many organisations are currently collecting biometrics without educating people on how their data will be used and secured.
“It makes sense for the home affairs ministry to be the single repository for identity verification, and this is to safeguard citizens’ data and privacy,” he added.
The workshop concluded with the possible formulation of policy recommendations, the identification of pilot projects for digital identity implementation, and the establishment of a multi-stakeholder taskforce to drive forward momentum.