President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah officially inaugurated the Kavango West Civic Affairs Regional Office at Nkurenkuru.

The centre aims to bring vital services closer to the people. 

For a long time, inhabitants of the Kavango West region had to travel over 130 km to Rundu for many essential services, including civil registration services.

The Kahenge sub-regional office and Nankundu Hospital – the only centres near residents in the Kavango West region – only offered birth and death certificates.

"We felt as a government that that is not fair, and that is why when Nkurenkuru was then declared a capital of Kavango West in 2017, the ministry opened an office that enabled the residents to access a broad range of services locally without long distance to Rundu. When that was done, it also came to light that when the statistics of Kavango West were revealed in the 2026 report, the registration rate was only 67.3 per cent, which is far below the national percentage of 86.8 but when the office was opened in 2017, it rose to 77.01 per cent, as we are informed by the Namibia 2023 population housing census. Meaning when the office was opened, their service was brought closer, and many people were able to be served. Yes, 86.8 per cent looks very good; however, the gap of 13.02 per cent is still significant, and we must, as a nation, work very hard in order to take care of each and every Namibian." 

The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Nkurenkuru Civic Affairs Office was done in July 2024, while construction was completed in December 2025.

Residents can now access services like obtaining birth, marriage certificates, death certificates, identification documents, and passports.

"The government of Namibia remains committed to expanding service delivery so that every citizen has access to essential services. To this end, we are investing in outreach programmes targeting vulnerable groups and geographically physically isolated communities to ensure that no one is left behind. To use the words of our third president, we will continue these investments. We have to achieve target 16.9 of the United Nations' sustainable development goals, which calls forth, and I quote, "Legal identity for all, including free birth registration by 2030." 

The president called for strengthened immigration services in the region.