Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security is drafting a bill to deal with the plight of 141 084 stateless people in Namibia who are undocumented.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Margaret Kalo, told The Namibian yesterday that those found to be stateless will have their status regularised in terms of a new law to be enacted.
She says currently the country does not have a law that deals with stateless individuals.
“Namibia is deeply concerned about the problem of statelessness. Stateless people have no legal protection and they cannot access social grants, banking services, find work or traverse borders. All of this leads to poverty,” Kalo said.
The immigration ministry has already started the process of registering those who are stateless in the country.
“These are people who do not meet the requirements for citizenship, and this may include their children and grandchildren. So, it becomes a chain,” she said.
Kalo encouraged mothers to register their children immediately after birth at any state hospital countrywide.
She said the most affected are people who came to Namibia from other nations before independence.
Kalo said other measures to tackle the issue of statelessness are outreach programmes conducted by the ministry to register undocumented persons.
“We also work hand in hand with traditional leaders such as headmen, councillors and governors, because they are the representatives at grassroots levels,” Kalo said.
The ministry is also guided by its annual work plan, where targets are indicated for the particular year on the number of people to be registered.
“Children who are born at home, their mothers must bring along a statement from people who helped them deliver their baby, declaring that they are the ones who assisted, then the baby will be given a birth certificate,” she said.
Kalo said that the ministry takes civil registration very seriously by ensuring that they register eligible people.
The ministry has also observed a trend of older people not having national documents.
“This becomes a challenge now because we ask for a lot of documents and some people might not have them all,” Kalo said.
STUDY PERMITS APPLICATION EXTENDED
The ministry also extended the application of study permits for international students to 31 March 2023.
Kalo said this is to provide sufficient time to students who missed the application period, which lapsed on 28 February 2023.
“We have seen a tendency by international students who are very reluctant to apply on time. But they only pop up on the last day giving pressure to the staff members. We urge all the students to make use of this time to apply,” she said.
She said after registration, the ministry will send officials to educational institutions to confirm whether all foreign students have complied with the request.
The ministry’s executive director, Etienne Maritz, last month warned foreign students who apply for study permits but do not attend classes and engage in other businesses.
“Appropriate action will be taken against them, which includes deporting them to their country of origin or residence,” Maritz said.
Kalo said the ministry is recording a number of international students applying for study permits, which she said presents a positive image of the country.
“This shows that Namibian universities are doing well in terms of their education. Students from all over the world are willing to study in Namibia, which is a very good thing,” Kalo said.
Oshana regional governor Elia Irimari said the issue of statelessness is a traumatising situation, as people are blocked from many services.
“We have a lot of people here in the north who are undocumented. Children are blocked from many things such as education, opening bank accounts and many other benefits for not having national documents,” Irimari said.
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