A family from Windhoek's Hakahana Residential Area, who lost their national documents in a shack fire this month, were issued with new national documents at no cost by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security in Windhoek.

Recalling the ordeal which happened on Independence Day, 33-year-old Fransina Hamunyela says no one was at home at the time of the fire.

They lost most of their belongings and documents in the blaze.

The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Dr. Albert Kawana, commissioned the construction of the Civic Affairs Regional Office and a Class B Police Station at Katima Mulilo on Wednesday.

The government will spend more than N$100 million on the Civic Affairs Regional Office at Katima Mulilo.

Dr. Kawana reiterated that the project's implementation represents the government's clear commitment to public safety and the efficient provision of civic services.

Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Dr. Albert Kawana, has expressed reservations about the possibility of introducing paternity leave, citing concerns that it could result in unintended repercussions.

He specifically voiced apprehensions about young men potentially impregnating multiple women and subsequently taking prolonged leave from work.

Dr. Kawana raised these points in debate over a motion presented by PDM MP Winnie Moongo, which advocates for improved maternity and paternity leaves.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security has refuted claims that it has banned click characters.

The Ministry was responding to a publication in a local daily newspaper that reported that the Ministry had turned away an individual whose surname comprises a click character.

The Ministry's Executive Director, Etienne Maritz, dismissed the allegations as untrue, saying the ministry has never implemented any policy that discriminates against any community.

Undocumented and stateless residents from Bravo Settlement in Kavango West got an opportunity to be registered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.

The initiative was held on Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day, usually celebrated on August 10 each year.

Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day is about increasing public awareness of the importance of the timely registration of vital events, particularly births and deaths.

The Councillor of Musese Constituency in Kavango West Region, Kosmos Katura, has urged the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security to enhance civil registration outreach programmes within his constituency.

Katura's call follows a significant turnout of undocumented Namibians seeking registration at Olavi Sivute Combined School.

Katura says a considerable number of individuals, particularly children, lack national identity documents.

The Angolan Consulate in Rundu is issuing consulate identification cards to its nationals who have been stateless in Namibia.

Kavango West's Ncamagoro Constituency Councillor, Thomas Rengi, initiated the process after realising the number of stateless persons was overwhelming.

A large number of Angolan nationals turned up for the one-week registration at the constituency office.

Those issued with the consulate cards are expected to apply for Angolan birth certificates and national identity cards for that country.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security is advising mothers who have not registered the birth of their children to do so, even in the absence of the fathers.

According to Sakeus Kadhikwa, the ministry's Public Relations Officer, mothers who fail to register their babies in their surnames risk their children becoming stateless.

In some cultures in Namibia, babies are registered under their father's surname. But for this to happen, the father needs to give consent, but sometimes he is nowhere to be found.

The Namibian government remains committed to ensuring that marginalised and stateless people are issued national documents.