Day: August 17, 2023

Demand for national documents continue to exert pressure on the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security, as lengthy queues persist at its main office in Windhoek.

The ministry inaugurated its N.dollars 813 million state-of-the-art headquarters in November 2022 with the aim of improving service delivery to both Namibians and foreigners.

In a recent interview with Nampa, the ministry’s public relations officer, Margaret Kalo, said the ministry frequently faces a notable surge in demand for its services on Mondays and payday. To address congestion, the ministry employs various remedial measures, such as deploying trained graduate students to assist, or reassigning staff members from administrative roles to aid at service counters.

She indicated that the ministry in 2022 introduced an internship programme for graduate students who are trained to assist at the counters. Up to now, 99 students have benefited from this initiative.

“In most cases, these measures successfully mitigate the impact of high client numbers and significantly reduce waiting times. However, while we are trying our best to provide timely services to our clients, queues cannot be completely avoided at all times,” she said.

Kalo further highlighted that the ministry frequently encounters an influx of applications, primarily for duplicate IDs, initial IDs, ID collections, late birth certificates, duplicate birth certificates, and visas.

She stressed that the issuance of late birth certificates is a cumbersome process as civil registration requires investigation and verification of the birth of origin of an individual.

“We are encouraging parents and guardians to register their children immediately after birth, as birth certificate services are conveniently available at hospitals across the country. This approach would significantly reduce the number of individuals lacking proper documentation,” she said.

Kalo also noted that since the introduction of an online platform in March 2023, the ministry has received a total of 900 passport applications and 1 360 short-term visa applications online. She urged the public to take advantage of the ministry’s online platform, as it offers a quicker and more convenient procedure compared to in-person applications.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

A 37-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at Shaya village in the Kavango East Region on Wednesday.

The Namibian Police Force’s crime investigations coordinator in the region, Deputy Commissioner Bonifatius Kanyetu told Nampa the incident occurred around 14h00.

The deceased has been identified as Muyenga Felistas Mpingana and her body was transported to the Nyangana Hospital mortuary.

It is alleged that Mpingana had lunch with family members at home and informed them afterwards that she was going to rest in her hut. Her body was then found hanging in the hut by her children.

Meanwhile, a 73-year-old man is receiving treatment at the Rundu State Hospital after he was allegedly assaulted with a panga by a man dealing with mental health issues on Wednesday.

The incident occurred around 16h00 at Mazana village, where the man was reportedly hit three times on the head with the panga.

The victim sustained serious open wounds and is in a critical condition.

Kanyetu said the police are yet to establish the motive behind this attack.

Police investigations in both matters continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Calle Schlettwein officially handed over infrastructure to the Amarika Farmers’ Cooperative in the Omusati Region on Wednesday.

Schlettwein said the ministry’s communal land development programme has invested over N.dollar 181 million in the development of infrastructure that serves about 490 000 hectares of communal land in seven regions of the country.

The seven beneficiary regions are: Omusati, Ohangwena, Kavango East, Kavango West, Zambezi, Omaheke and Otjozondjupa.

The infrastructure development included the installation of 74 boreholes; 167 kilometres of water pipelines; 877 kilometres of fencing and 20 cattle handling facilities.

He said that the infrastructure benefits farming households in the designated communal areas and provides them the opportunity to contribute to, and benefit from, the agriculture sector.

The Amarika Farmers’ Cooperative covers an area of 40 000 hectares and has 122 registered members.

Amarika’s N.dollars 23.8 million infrastructure development includes a 53-kilometre long water pipeline, six water points and 56 kilometres rangeland fencing to improve livestock management practices.

“It is hoped that the people of Amarika and the neighbouring communities will benefit from the developments,” Schlettwein said.

He added that the programme stakeholders include the German government and the European Union, and the Ngandjera Traditional Authority that made the land available.

Members of the cooperative expressed their appreciation for what was done for them.

However, they requested Government assistance to secure 50 hectares of land in the Etunda Irrigation Scheme for fodder production and to address high feed prices at a feedlot they plan to construct in the Uukwandongo village.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency