Adolf Kaure
The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security Lucia Iipumbu, said providing members of the public good service is non-negotiable during a staff address held in Windhoek on Friday.
According to the minister, mediocre service delivery undermines trust in the State.
“When we perform poorly—when we delay, when we send people from office to office, when files go missing, when answers differ from one desk to the next—we do not only frustrate the public; we undermine trust in the State. Excellent service delivery is not negotiable,” said Iipumbu.
She also urged the staff to ensure that as they execute their duties, their work is grounded on national priorities, which are outlined in developmental frameworks like the sixth National Developmental Plan (NPD6).
“Our focus, first and foremost, must be informed by the priorities of the 8th Administration, as articulated in NDP6, the Swapo Party Manifesto, and its implementation plan.
At the operational level, we have our Ministerial Strategic Plan (2025–2030), which translates those commitments into programmes, targets, and deliverables.
Therefore, every directorate, every region, every station, and every individual officer must be able to answer a simple question: how does what I am doing today advance those priorities?
We cannot afford busy-work. We cannot afford activity without impact,” she said.
Issuance of birth certificates and identification documents
The minister further stressed the importance for the ministry’s staff to ensure that basic procedures are completed correctly, especially in civil registration and documentation, while highlighting the need to expand access points for new individuals to obtain birth certificates.
“Inaccurate data capture is not a minor error; it follows a person for life. Correct anomalies between birth certificates and identity documents and expand access, stating that requirements must be clear and applied consistently, especially in sensitive or complex cases,” she said.
“We must strengthen quality assurance so that errors are prevented, not merely corrected after the fact. The issuance of birth certificates must be extended to additional and new hospitals, in line with our service delivery mandate. Every child must start life with a legal identity, and we must reduce the distance and burden placed on families to obtain foundational documents,” said Iipumbu. National identity documents are essential tools for establishing legal existence, ensuring access to rights, and fostering a sense of belonging.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security has issued 126,737 birth certificates in the 2025/2026 financial year.
Additionally, 117 176 identity documents were issued during the same period. From June 23 to 30 August 2025, the ministry has successfully issued national documents to 22 690 members of the San community, exceeding the target of 16 000.
“This initiative is aimed at enabling marginalised communities to qualify for national documents under the relaxed requirements to enable them to get access to essential services such as social grants, healthcare, and education,” said the ministry’s executive director, Nghidinua Daniel.
The ministry aims to introduce electronic identity document cards during the 2026/2027 financial year.
-akaure@nepc.com.na