Nandi‑Ndaitwah inaugurates Kavango West regional Home Affairs office

NKURENKURU, 26 MAR (NAMPA) – President Netumbo Nandi‑Ndaitwah on Thursday officially opened the Kavango West Regional Home Affairs Civic Office in Nkurenkuru, saying the facility will bring vital civil registration and immigration services closer to residents.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the building was completed two months ahead of schedule and will reduce travel and waiting times for people seeking identity documents, passports and certificates.
The president cited improvements since the ministry expanded regional services in 2017 but warned that more work remains to reach universal registration.
“Legal identity is a right that belongs to every Namibian,” she said, calling for action to close the registration gap.
She listed services the office will provide, including birth, death and marriage registration, processing of identity documents and passports, and support for tourists and investors.
Nandi‑Ndaitwah stressed integrity in document issuance and warned against shortcuts and corruption by officials.
“The fraudulent issuing of documents to ineligible applicants is a trust betrayed and selling out our country, our forbearers who have fought for it with blood and sweat.”
She urged that requirements for national documents be widely distributed in local languages, so applicants understand procedures.
Addressing birth registration, she noted removal of the father’s compulsory presence and appealed to fathers to register children while insisting mothers must not be blocked from registering newborns.
“I demand that every child born in Namibia must enjoy these constitutional rights,” she said.
The Head of State called for outreach programmes to reach vulnerable and geographically isolated communities and tied the effort to Namibia’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 for legal identity by 2030.
She also warned the public to maintain the new facility and its services, citing cleanliness, functioning toilets and green surroundings as priorities.
Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Lucia Iipumbu said progress will be monitored and reported to central government to secure resources needed to reach universal registration in Kavango West.
The building was constructed by August 26 and construction began after a groundbreaking in 2024, and the facility serves both residents and cross border travellers and visitors.
(NAMPA)
JLN/PS/EK