Parliament pleads for Angolan refugees in Kunene
Cabinet procrastinates for seven years
Critical positions in the home affairs ministry's Kunene offices are unoccupied, and this hampers service delivery to communities, a committee found.
The parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and security has recommended the fast-tracking of citizenship for currently stateless refugees who fled Angola in the 1970s.
Presenting a report in parliament this week, Swapo member of parliament Lucia Witbooi said this can be done either by relaxing the existing requirements or using the same template applied to repatriate Ovaherero descendants from Botswana.
“These people have families both in Namibia and Angola but still do not have national documents because they do not meet the requirements and they cannot access services during trying and difficult times. The issue has been with Cabinet for the last seven years, with no amicable solution to date,” the report read.
The home affairs ministry was also urged to urgently revisit a provision what allows residents who live within 60 kilometres of the Angola-Namibia border to move between the two countries freely.
The report suggested that an exception be made for the Kunene Region, as the nearest town with essential services is Opuwo, which is 180 kilometres inland.
It highlighted a need for the ministry to set up a border post and entry points within Kunene from areas bordering the Etosha National Park as well as set up a police station in the vicinity.
Services delayed
The committee also found that critical positions in the ministry’s Kunene offices are unoccupied, and this hampers service delivery to communities.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Kunene regional police headquarters - which began in January 2020 on a budget of N$65 million, with N$12.8 million already spent - is 45% behind schedule because of non-payment of contractors by government.
“Since January 2021, not a single payment was made of the N$5 million requested by the contractor. The contractor noted that should the situation continue, it would be difficult to meet the July deadline. So far, the contractor has applied for an extension, which has not yet been approved,” the report read.
Another challenge is that ministry of works officials have reportedly failed to report for construction inspection since the project kicked off because subsistence and travel allowances cannot be paid, the committee said.
Presenting a report in parliament this week, Swapo member of parliament Lucia Witbooi said this can be done either by relaxing the existing requirements or using the same template applied to repatriate Ovaherero descendants from Botswana.
“These people have families both in Namibia and Angola but still do not have national documents because they do not meet the requirements and they cannot access services during trying and difficult times. The issue has been with Cabinet for the last seven years, with no amicable solution to date,” the report read.
The home affairs ministry was also urged to urgently revisit a provision what allows residents who live within 60 kilometres of the Angola-Namibia border to move between the two countries freely.
The report suggested that an exception be made for the Kunene Region, as the nearest town with essential services is Opuwo, which is 180 kilometres inland.
It highlighted a need for the ministry to set up a border post and entry points within Kunene from areas bordering the Etosha National Park as well as set up a police station in the vicinity.
Services delayed
The committee also found that critical positions in the ministry’s Kunene offices are unoccupied, and this hampers service delivery to communities.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Kunene regional police headquarters - which began in January 2020 on a budget of N$65 million, with N$12.8 million already spent - is 45% behind schedule because of non-payment of contractors by government.
“Since January 2021, not a single payment was made of the N$5 million requested by the contractor. The contractor noted that should the situation continue, it would be difficult to meet the July deadline. So far, the contractor has applied for an extension, which has not yet been approved,” the report read.
Another challenge is that ministry of works officials have reportedly failed to report for construction inspection since the project kicked off because subsistence and travel allowances cannot be paid, the committee said.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article