RUNDU – Over 1 200 villagers at Maputa received national documents during a recent mass registration of national documents.
Broken down, a total of 146 birth certificates, 107 identity cards (IDs), 12 data updates, and two changes of image on IDs were issued, while 1 028 stateless persons were attended to, bringing the total number of people served to 1 295 during the Maputa village mass national document registration programme.
“The Maputa village outreach started on 6 June 2024 and was initially scheduled for 14 June 2024. It was extended by another week to end on 21 June 2024, due to the high number of people who were not attended to. This is part of the ongoing countrywide mass registration campaign aimed at ensuring that all eligible persons can register and be issued national documents, thereby facilitating access to essential services and government support,” stated immigration ministry spokesperson Margaret Kalo.
Maputa is in the heart of Bwabwata National Park in the Mukwe constituency.
The community there recently aired their need for national documents to Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa while she was addressing a mini rally in Maputa.
Shaningwa moved with lightning speed, calling on President Nangolo Mbumba for home affairs minister Albert Kawana to attend to the needs of the residents.
In response to Shaningwa’s call, the government moved expeditiously to address this plight by sending officials to Maputa.
Kalo told New Era that while executing the programme, there were some hiccups.
“There was a lack of supporting documents, and many individuals arriving for registration had no form of documentation, such as birth certificates, South West African IDs, or any other documents.This lack of proper identification hampered the registration process. Determination of status requires proper steps to ensure the legitimacy of the applicants before issuing new documents,’’ she said.
During the process, there was increased demand from neighbouring areas as people from Kongola in the Zambezi region also went to Maputa to access services.
“This influx of individuals from outside the designated service area put additional strain on resources and staff, leading to longer waiting times and potential delays in processing applications,’’ Kalo stated.