Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security has a pile of uncollected identity documents that the public applied for but never collected. Ministry executive director Etienne Maritz said 52 899 ID cards have not been collected.
By law, all citizens and permanent residents must apply for an ID when they turn 16 years of age, or immediately after someone’s citizenship or permanent residence permit has been granted.
During the financial year 2021/22, the Ministry issued a total of 114 354 ID cards. Of those, 61 455 have been collected. “It is against this background that the Ministry is calling upon those who have applied for identity documents to come and collect their IDs,” said Maritz.
Maritz stated that ID collection can be done in various ways and ID cards can be transferred to any Ministry of Home Affairs office in the respective regions. The Ministry has also re-introduced the short message (SMS) notification service for ID Application Services as a form of improving service delivery.
Maritz indicated that applicants will receive an SMS on their mobile phone when their application has been approved and printed, and when the ID is ready for collection.
“This will save applicants time and decongest the offices since applicants no longer need to visit the office to enquire on the status of their application,” added Maritz.
Applicants will also be able to enquire about the status of their ID application by sending a text message. “Your identity is your greatest asset, and you must at all times keep your birth certificate and your ID card in a safe and secure place,” Maritz said. He said there is a rise in identity theft partly because birth certificates and IDs are not kept safe. File photo for illustrative purposes.
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