President Hage Geingob has said there should be no more excuses for lack of service delivery by Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration and Safety officials, following the inauguration of the ministry’s new N.dollars 813 million headquarters in the capital.
Inaugurating the building named after former President Hifikepunye Pohamba under the theme “Serving with Excellence” here on Thursday, Geingob said the newly constructed headquarters should be defined by a vibrant work culture that provides efficient and effective national document service delivery to both Namibians and foreigners.
“You have no reason why you cannot serve the nation according to expectations of excellence. Our citizens deserve nothing but efficient service delivery as the government, through the ministry, has provided a conducive working environment,” he said.
Geingob further implored the officials of the ministry to ensure that national documents are only issued to individuals who are entitled to have them, stressing that the ministry should adopt a zero tolerance approach to those who corruptly issue documents to people who are not entitled to such documents.
The Head of State said issuing of untitled documents pose a security risk to the country, saying it is known that Namibian documents are highly sought after by some nationals of other countries.
He further noted that the ministry is the custodian of national records and data and therefore should play a major role in the digitisation of records and data through offering online services.
“The ministry has a pivotal role to play to ensure that no Namibian is left out from obtaining a national identity document. A sense of belonging and national identity is the key to human dignity,” noted the president.
At the same event Pohamba, the building’s patron, said the recognition symbolises the hard work of the pioneering team in the establishment of the ministry at the inception of Namibia’s independence.
“You have an opportunity to serve our nation operating from this beautiful building, therefore I implore you to do so efficiently. It is your patriotic duty to make Namibians happy by providing excellent service delivery,” he noted.
The building was constructed by a Chinese contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Company, in a joint venture with local company JV Oshilongo Investments.
The building of 154 170 square metres includes 210 offices, a conference area; 70 service counters; 80 storage rooms; five archive spaces; 12 boardrooms and 555 parking spaces.
The building’s construction commenced in 2015 and it was opened to the public on 01 February 2022.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
