WALVIS BAY – The growing demand for short-term employment visas at the coast has resulted in the ministry of home affairs establishing an Immigration Selection Board Committee on Work Visas for the Erongo region.
The group that consists of six members from various ministries and government agencies will now have the critical responsibility to make sound decisions when it comes to work applications in the region.
The members individually and collectively remain responsible to ensure that an only skill that is not available in Namibia is imported.
“In the same vein, the industries have a responsibility to ensure that they create a critical mass of skilled labour force in order to employ more Namibians. The time has come for us to discard our previously held solo mentality and think about the nation as a whole if we are to succeed as a nation,” said home affairs deputy minister Maureen Hinda-Mbuende.
According to her, cabinet directed the ministry and stakeholders to make concerted efforts to implement recommendations taken during the recent Economic Summit regarding visas and residence permits regulations to ensure improved acquisition in order to boost local economic growth.
“These regulations are the introduction of e-visa or visa at entry point at a low nominal fee, the provision of easy access for work visa for highly-skilled professionals and potential investors, among others,” Hinda-Mbuende explained. She also pointed out that the idea is to ensure that all concerned have an opportunity to participate in bringing service closer to where it matters most and ensuring that all possible impediments are eliminated right away.
“We have discovered that most urgent applications for short-term employment permits originated from the Erongo region, particularly from the fishing industry and rigs needing repairs, as well as mines. Not to stifle the operations of our industry when emergencies occur, it has been decided to establish the committee at this office to provide services when needed,” she said.
The committee is chaired by Jona Kamati from the ministry of home affairs, while other members include Beatha Amadhila (defence), Uakumbirua Kamatundu (home affairs), Salome Amukalu (labour), Emmanuel Samuel (defence) and Frans Daniel from the Namibian Central Intelligence Service.