John Muyamba
Nkurenkuru-The Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Pendukeni Ivula-Ithana says Namibians should be patriotic citizens and protect their country jealously by ensuring they do not write letters as community leaders or make Police declarations, issue baptismal certificates supporting foreigners who claim to be Namibians.
She said it is unpatriotic for Namibians to assist foreigners to acquire national documents.
She made the remarks when she officially opened the fully-fledged Ministry of Home Affairs Kavango West regional office in Nkurenkuru yesterday (Monday).
“It is disheartening to note that the prevalence of falsification of birth certificates and death certificates is higher in the two Kavango Regions than anywhere else in the country,” stated Iivula-Ithana.
The Department of Civil Registration has made great strides in the past few years in its effort to take Civil registration services to far-flung rural areas as was the case at Nkurenkuru on Monday, she noted.
“I can assure and promise you, should resources allow, in the next few years, Kavango West region will have a subregional office in one of its far flanked constituencies,” the minister further stated.
Despite the economic crisis in the country she said the ministry is doing more with less.
“as I am talking to you right now. School mobile registration is taking place in this region (today the ministry mobile registration team is at Rupara Combined School) ensuring that our children have the ID cards as required by law when they turn 16 years of age,” assured the home affairs and immigration minister.
“Let me at this juncture reiterate that the phasing out of the old South West African ID was extended to 31 March 2018; I therefore urge all those who are still using the old brown SWA IDs to visit one of our offices at the earliest convenience to apply for a National ID,” she stated.
“If the reasons for late birth registration was the absence of Home Affairs Office in Kavango West, now the office is here, so let us register our children on time,” she said.
Caption: (Nkurenkuru): The Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Pendukeni Ivula-Ithana (left) getting ready to cut the ribbon to officially open the fully fledged Ministry of Home Affairs Kavango West regional office in Nkurenkuru today, on the right is Hompa Eugene Siwombe of the VaKwangali Traditinal Authority and Kavango West Governor Sirkka Ausiku.