Works and Transport Deputy Minister Veikko Nekundi had a series of familiarisation visits at NATIS offices and facilities in the Oshana and Omusati regions.
He also made a stopover at the Tsandi-Omugulugwombashe gravel road, which is vital as it leads to the Omungulu-Gwombashe national heritage site, where the first shot to commence the armed liberation struggle was fired and where heroes, heroines, and veterans of the liberation struggle are buried.
The road has been a concern to many, who complained that it needs to be upgraded because it is bumpy, dusty, and slippery during the rainy season.
The government is now ready to upgrade the more than 20-kilometre road to a low-volume seal standard, and its construction will soon start because the road design is already complete.
"My going there is just to ensure that preparations are well underway because if everything goes to plan, the groundbreaking ceremony will be done on the 22 of May, and my minister, comrade Mutorwa, will be doing the groundbreaking ceremony, so very soon the road from Tsandi to Omugulugwombashe will be upgraded to low volume seal."
Nekundi then visited the Outapi NATIS office in Omusati Region to familiarise himself with the working conditions and environment at that office.
He, however, picked up on a challenge faced by NATIS clients at Outapi.
"The information that has come to our attention is that there are too many conmen operating on the premises of NATIS Outapi, and the community has been conned out of amounts ranging up to N$5000 paid to these conmen, though much of it is illegal and of a criminal nature. Our warning to our people is not to pay money outside the NATIS office without being issued with a receipt."
He says NATIS services are affordable, and people should distance themselves from entering into fraudulent and dubious deals with strangers who claim to offer NATIS services outside the office.
At Ongwediva NATIS in the Oshana Region, Nekundi learned that the office is always congested.
"Based on the briefing from the colleagues on the ground, plans are underway to expand the facilities in order to accommodate the customers without any squeeze, and I understand some of the equipment is often running out of order because of overuse of that equipment."
The challenges at NATIS-Oshakati are minimal, but there is also a plan to expand the office for effective service delivery to the clientele.