Twaloloka residents who lost most of their belongings in a devastating fire on Sunday evening will have their national documents replaced at no cost, home affairs ministry executive director Etienne Maritz announced yesterday.
 Maritz explained duplicate national documents are usually paid for, but it will be an exception for the fire victims. “We are cognizant of the hardship already faced by the affected individuals. We have started working on the administrative processes to achieve this noble goal,” he told journalists yesterday. 

According to Maritz, the ministry was prepared to have affected communities assisted speedily and smoothly. “We will work with the local authorities to obtain a consolidated name list of all the affected individuals. We will do this as soon as we can, considering the Covid-19 restrictions,” said Maritz. 

He further explained that as soon as the ministry receives the list of the affected victims from the Office of the Erongo governor, a team would be deployed to assess the situation. 
In just one week, two devastating fires occurred in two settlements: in Walvis Bay and Windhoek. 

“The ministry stands in solidarity with the residents of Twaloloka settlement in Walvis Bay and residents of Havana settlement in Windhoek. 
“We wish to commiserate with all our fellow citizens who have been affected not only by the losses related to the pandemic but also by the devastating infernos which have resulted in a loss of property. We have learned that a life was lost in the Twaloloka settlement fire and we would like to express our sincere condolences to the bereaved family,” he stated. – ljason@nepc.com.na