2015-04-21Staff Report 2 WINDHOEK - The Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, has urged ministerial staff to refrain from accepting bribes as this would tarnish the good image of the ministry. Speaking at a farewell party of former deputy minister of home affairs, Dr Elia Kaiyamo and Special Advisor Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange as well as the welcoming of the new Deputy Minister Erastus Uutoni recently, Iivula-Ithana said the public, through print and electronic media, highlighted inefficiency such as poor service delivery of staff, corruption, long queues, the bad attitude among staff as some of the challenges facing the ministry. She said following this public outcry in the media, her team has worked hard to build a great national profile of the ministry and therefore it is important for workers to refrain from all forms of bribes, as this will damage the good reputation built by the her ministry. “Given the tremendous challenges confronting the ministry, it soon becomes apparent we had to develop several strategies and initiatives to remain relevant and to maintain the authenticity of this organisation, re-injecting the Namibian nation with the hope in terms of promising and delivering service especially,” stated Iivula-Ithana. Iivula-Ithana said the successes the ministry of home affairs recorded in the past year were also because of Kaiyamo and Tjiriange. “Through the leadership of Kaiyamo and Tjiriange, the ministry has trained staff in customer care, established the Erongo Immigration Tribunal, recruitment of the Deputy Director in 2014, opened the Kasamene border post in 2014, introduced immigration insignias and contributed to border security through joint commissions on defence and security with neighbouring countries,” elaborated the minister. Iivula-Ithana has in recent months received rave reviews for turning around the once problematic ministry that is now able to issue IDs, passports, birth certificates, death certificates and other documents on time. On his part, outgoing Kaiyamo pleaded with Iivula-Ithana and his successor, Uutoni to fulfil the aims and vision of the ministry. “Through the turnaround strategy, we have seen how structures have evolved and improved for the better, whereas we have witnessed praise from some circles in society. The momentum of this achievement should surely continue,” he said. He said his point of departure has always been flavoured by the “proletariat world outlook” and in line with Vision 2030. “It is how I see the role of the ministry to help the Namibian society by minimising ignorance by all standards guided by NDP4,” he added. Kaiyamo said the ministry must take a leading role to help those involved to succeed by providing leadership in minimising ignorance. “We need a ‘mindset’ that sees opportunities and not only obstacles,” he said. He further appealed to staff to help the ministry make the home affairs services the task for all to be committed to. 2015-04-21Staff Report 2
