Stefanus Nashama
Bonifatius Wakudumo, the Governor of the Kavango East Regio, has clarified that the majority of people without national identification documents in the Kavango community are Angolans who settled in Namibia a long time ago.
The Governor said he is aware of this issue and added that they have all records of the number of Angolans without national identification documents.
Wakudumo, however, indicated that there are some Namibians without national identification documents and that the government is working hard to register them.
“Some African nationals from other countries who came to Namibia in the 1960s are also without national identification documents, but the majority are Angolans,” he said.
Wakudumo made the remarks in response to the Popular Democratic Movement Youth League, which on Tuesday issued a statement complaining about a significant number of residents in the Kavango West and East regions currently without identity documents.
The Governor said the issue of people without national documents in the two regions came with their parents who do not have national documents too, which triggers the acquisition of national documents for children born in the country.
“If parents have no national documents how do you expect the government to register national documents to the children? This will end in the whole family not getting national documents because there is nothing proving their parents’ nationality,” he explained.
However, the governor stood his ground by saying the PDM has members in parliament that know what exactly to do for one to acquire national documents instead of shifting all the blame to the government.
According to Wakudumo, some political parties only go to communities to pinpoint issues like this in an effort to score cheap political points.
“Yes, we understand there are people in the regions without national documents, but we should not use politics to blame others. We should work together instead. Certain policies and requirements regulate the issuing of national documents to people like these,” Wakudumo said.
He questioned the ability of people who just arrive in Namibia to register for national documents without following procedures and added that the government is following all procedures to see how it can assist these people.
He emphasized all required documents should be available to assist the process of registering these people with national documents.
“These are issues that the government of Namibia and Angola are working on to see how they can assist these people,” said the Governor.
If the parents of these people have no identity documents, this results in the whole family not getting national documents because nothing is proofing their nationality,” he explained.
The governor said the government does the registration of national documents every year.
“We not just sitting in offices doing nothing. We know exactly the number of Namibians and non-Namibians without national documents, and we are working by following all procedures to ensure that these people get national documents, especially those who came to Namibia a long way back,” he stressed. He also said there are so many issues involved in the matter, including an absence of parents and missing the required documents for one to register for national documents “but we are working with traditional leaders and regional councillors to assist these people”.
Regarding non-Namibians from other nations, Wakudumo said the legal provision will guide how the government will assist them.
He urged that parents should have national documents to make it easy for their children to obtain national documents.
