Allow me space in your respected newspaper to air my views and opinions. I am a full Namibian citizen who is concerned about the bad behaviour among Home Affairs officials. Before I go into details, firstly I want to know from the Minister of Home Affairs and the Permanent Secretary whether theyhave trained their staff or not, especially on how to deal with clients, how to behave towards them, as well as time management. I would also like to know how they were elected to their desired posts. The reason I am asking about their qualifications and experience is because their behaviour towards clients shows that they lack experience on the above-mentioned attitudes. Let me be specific, to prove my argument. Two weeks ago when I went to apply for a birth certificate at the Home Affairs in Northern Industria (Windhoek), they gave me a form to fill in all the details that would appear in the certificate. I answered every querston and, after completing the form, they asked me to come and collect it after a week because they would have to send it to my home region – which is Omusati Region – where my birth certificate had been issued. When I returned after one week, I was told that they had not yet received it and that I should come back again after one week. I went back after the second week – as I was instructed to do – but I was surprised that the information they used was not what I had given in the form. I do not understand why they should have given me a form to apply for the full birth certificate if they already have my details in place. I thought the reason why they gave me the form to complete was to include the details as I wanted them to appear in the certificate. But then they used their own information I really do not know if they concentrate on what they are doing. They must always remember that any single mistake in a document can make every opportunity complicated and can cause the document to be declared “null and void”. Another careless mistake on their part was when I applied for my identity card in 1999 – and collected it after six months – I discovered that one extra letter had been added at the beginning of my surname. I was asked to come back after three weeks, but when I went there after three weeks, nothing had been done to correct their error. I was again told to come back after another three weeks. Remember, each time I go back, I have to pay the transport (which is a lot of money) and then I have to join the queue – indeed a costly process! These are careles mistakes suffered by just one person. What about those who do not come forward to complain about their problems? There are hundreds who experience the same problems. Yet another problem I have observed is that Home Affairs do not receive their clients on time, nor even politely. You can go to the town offices of Home Affairs in Windhoek, and you will see how officials mistreat clients by keeping them waiting for long periods in a queue, without assisting them and by being rude to them. We, as taxpayers in this country, are paying for effective services, not for the poor services we receive while they relax and wait for their salaries at the end of a month for the bad services they render, for being rude to clients, and expecting us to pay taxes just so that they can receive their salaries. That is not how we expect things to be done in the Land of the Brave where there is the Anti-Corruption Commission to fight corruption. In conclusion, I call upon the Minister and the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs to speedily resolve the problems caused by these civil servants within their Ministry, because if they fail to do so, then we can expect unsustainable development in this country – thefts and a bad image to foreigners who visit our Home Affairs offices in Namibia. S. NEPOLO WINDHOEK