WINDHOEK– Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration staff working directly with the public should be rotated to avoid fatigue and also to encourage the development of a greater esprit de corps, says a 35-year-old Windhoek resident.
Theopaulina Ndundu who shared her story on poor service delivery with New Era yesterday said she went to the offices of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration in Outapi (Omusati Region) to apply for a duplicate of her child’s birth certificate and encountered unbelievably poor service delivery when she got there. “Not only were the machines not working but the people did not respond to our queries in a friendly manner, neither did they communicate information in a friendly manner. I travelled all the way to Outapi from Windhoek to apply for a duplicate birth certificate, but I came back to Windhoek unassisted, because the machines were apparently not working,” said Ndundu. She explained that she did not know that she could apply for a duplicate at any home affairs office in the country and that is why she travelled to Outapi.
“Those officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration in Outapi are tired. Their service is not good they must be rotated often, because maybe they are tired of working in the same environment for a long period,” she said. Ndundu is of the view that public servants who work directly with the public should posses strong character in order to deliver effective and friendly service to the public. “Imagine, you go there to be assisted and you go back even worse off than you were before you went there, because the officials are just plain rude,” Ndundu said.
The disgruntled woman said information should be disseminated regularly in the mass media, particularly on radio to inform the public about the functions and services offered by the Ministry of Home Affairs; what is needed to apply for national documents and duplicates to avoid hiccups and poor service delivery in general.
The Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Salome Kambala yesterday told New Era that in order to apply for a duplicate birth certificate it is not required that the applicant applies in the area where they were born. “I assume that she travelled to Outapi to apply for the duplicate, because she’s coming from that area. It is unfortunate that she went all that way, because people can apply for duplicates at the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Khomas regional office,” she said. Kambala said the ministry strives to offer improved service and the misunderstanding between officials at Outapi and Ndundu was unfortunate.
“We encourage our workers to have (good) communication skills and how to talk to members of the public in a civil and polite manner,” she added.
She further said the ministry does in fact communicate through the mass media on the functions and services offered by the ministry.
By Alvine Kapitako