President Nangolo Mbumba has granted the request by the Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission to extend its work programme for another month.

The commissioners submitted a preliminary report to Dr. Mbumba at State House on Wednesday.

The Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission, set up in April this year, was expected to complete and submit its final report to the President by July.

The Commission had carried out extensive consultations with communities countrywide, stating that discussions, albeit tense, were held in a peaceful environment.

Communities made both oral and written submissions to the Commission, which are all contained in the preliminary report.

"The Commission is submitting the preliminary summary report of the regional consultations held from May 6 to June 13, 2024, to Your Excellency, the President, which contained only the consultations from 10 regions, four of which are still outstanding. So in this report, the Commission will outline the key observations from all the regions and the final work that must still be conducted or undertaken to submit the final report," said Judge Petrus Unenu, the Chairperson of the Commission.

Press Secretary Alfredo Hengari says President Mbumba considered the complexities in the Commission to produce the final report.

"The President has agreed to grant an extension for the work of the Commission to continue to deliver a report to the President that matches the scope of work given to the important Commission. The deadline given is the end of September, and should there be minor issues, the President may consider them, but as it stands now, the 30th is the day that they should submit their report. Without a doubt, boundaries, delimitation, and demarcation are quite complex exercises, and that has been highlighted, and the President does appreciate the complexity of the task at hand. There is no question about the fact that, at the end of the day, the cooperation granted to the Commission by the public speaks to what we all as Namibians would like to achieve."

The Presidency further clarified that the request for a deadline extension for the Commission would have no impact on the country's election cycle.

The final recommendations by the Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission would determine whether Namibia should be administratively divided, considering only geographical changes like population growth and migration.