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Namibia: IDs to Open Doors for Returnees

Source: New Era, 21/08/2015

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration remains focused and
inspired to ensure that every Namibian enjoys their citizenship as
guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic.

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister, Pendukeni Iivula- Ithana said
this while addressing thousands of Gam and Eiseb block residents, who
received their identity documents this week, noting that they can now
apply for work and open their own bank accounts. She said the
returnees, who have been been without IDs for over a decade could also
apply for admission to university.

On Monday Iivula-Ithana and her delegation travelled to Gam and Eiseb
to oversee the issuance of Namibian IDs.

Namibian returnees from Botswana, who were resettled in Eiseb Block
and Gam in the Omaheke and Otjozondjupa regions in 1993 have been
complaining since of not having IDs.

The returnees could previously not apply for work and admission to
university or open any bank accounts due to the mere fact they did not
have IDs to prove their legal status.

Iivula-Ithana said now that they have IDs this will permit them to
benefit from a raft of government programmes and services, including
old age pensions, disability grants, education, as well as training
and employment in the public and the private sectors.

She urged community members to take responsibility and to make sure
they acquire all the requisite documents, so that they are not left
out.

"All newborn babies should get registered at birth so that they get
birth certificates immediately after birth," she instructed Home
Affairs and Immigration officials.

"It is our responsibility as parents to make sure that our children
and those we take care of have national documents," she added.
The minister also requested councillors and governors to do all that
is required to ensure that all Namibians acquire national documents.
"I have sent out letters to all regional governors and regional
councillors to compile names and locations of all those Namibians, who
so far do not have national documents in order to bring them to our
attention," she said.

Iivula-Ithana says it is costly for her ministry to send mobile
registration teams to remote places for a day only to have two or
three people coming forward for registration. "When we know how many
people are not yet registered at a certain constituency, it makes our
operation much easier," she said.

"Let us get organised so that we operate smarter, smoother and
faster," she added.

Parliament early this year passed new legislation, the Namibian
(Second) Special Conferment Act 6, 2015). The purpose of the Act is to
provide for the conferment of Namibian citizenship upon descendants of
persons who left Namibia owing to persecution by the German colonial
government that was in control of the country before 1915, and to
provide for incidental matters.

The Act allows the government to grant citizenship to descendants of
Namibians who find themselves in similar situations. The new law will
be in force for ten years within which time people in the category
stipulated and who choose to become Namibian citizens can apply and be
granted citizenship.

Between 1904 and 1908 thousands of Ovaherero, Ovambanderu and Nama
people fled to Botswana to escape extermination at the hands of German
colonial troops, who were acting on an extermination order of their
notorious commander General Lothar von Trotha.

It is estimated that in 1993 there were about 3 000 returnees from
Botswana who did not have Namibian national identification documents

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