Namibia: Home Affairs officials denied entry into commercial farms to register farmworkers
Published: 18/Nov/2020
Source: Namibia Broadcasting Corporation
The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration says their officials are being denied entry into commercial farms to register farmworkers to acquire national documents.
This is after the ministry came under fire from lawmakers, accusing it of not doing enough to address statelessness in the country.
Workers at commercial farms are of particular concern as they top the number of persons without the national documents.
The Director of National Civil Registration Collins Muleke told NBC News that in most cases, the farmworkers depend on their employers to be transported, registered and collect documents at the nearest Government offices.
He said the constituency offices sometimes intervene by holding information sharing sessions between the Ministry’s officials and farmers.
The two Kavango regions and Zambezi Region top the list of low birth registrations,with no available estimates or statistics.
Muleke said, though the ministry operates on a limited budget of N$88 million, it will increase the outreach programmes.
The ministry also relies on hospital-based offices to register newborn babies while itpromises to approach farmers unions.
Watch interview: https://www.nbc.na/news/home-affairs-officials-denied-entry-commercial-farms-register-farmworkers.38097