Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, immigration, Safety and Security, Daniel Kashikola has tabled a bill that would allow Namibians at the age of 14 to legally obtain National Identity documents.
The bill proposes that the minimum age for obtaining an ID should be lowered from 16 to 14 years.
“At age 14, a person’s biometrics are well developed and therefore fingerprints may be taken at this age. This is also done with the foresight that other biometrics such as iris and facial recognition, which are possible at a younger age, will be integrated into our identity management system,” said Kashikola.
In addition, he said this will also enable children in schools to get their IDs early enough before they sit for their national examinations.
IDs are currently issued to Namibian citizens, permanent residents, and refugees at the age of 16 and above.
Kashikola went on to say clients providing information for the purpose of civil registration and identity management will do so under oath or affirmation and if one lies, they will be prosecuted.
“This means, when one lies under oath, they will be committing the common law of offence of perjury and can be prosecuted. Having registrars as commissioners of oath will be useful in shortening the time spent at our service desks. Sometimes clients are sent back numerous times to re-do a stamen because it does not answer the exact queries that are key to a particular application. This is aimed at making our services customer-centric,” he said.
The bill also provides for the appointment, by the minister, of the Registrar General and the designation of registrars of births, marriages and deaths who will also serve as commissioners of oath for the purpose of administering the act.
Moreover, when he pointed out issues Namibia is facing regarding ID registration, such as people changing their dates of birth, Kahikola said the bill makes provision for an Age Determination Committee to deal with matters of that course.
“Age Determination Committees will be empowered to determine one’s age from available documentation and evidence. When it is not possible to make the determination, the committee will invoke the procedure in the Child Care and Protection Act (for children) or refer the applicant to a medical practitioner (in the case of adults). Sometimes the change of age is just to obtain a certain benefit then change back to the correct age later,” stated Kashikola.
