Angola gets strict with illegal Nam immigrants

THE Angolan government has warned Namibians living illegally in that country to get their papers in order.

Namibians living or grazing their cattle in the Cunene and Quando Cubango provinces bordering Namibia have been urged to apply for residence permits to have legal status in Angola. This was done at a meeting held at Olupale in Quando Cubango Province on Monday which was attended by Namibians and Angolans and was addressed by the Cunene Province governor, Antonio Ndidalelwa.The Governor of the Ohangwena Region was also in attendance.Ndidalelwa said Namibians have developed the habit of crossing into the two Angolan provinces because they have relatives and friends living there.Some cross the border with temporary residence permits and stay on after the permits have expired, without renewing them.’Although it is a well-known fact that Angolans and Namibians are brothers and sisters, this does not mean we have to stay illegally in another one’s country. There are laws that are guiding us.We have to abide by the laws and respect them,’ Ndidalelwa said.He said even those just grazing their cattle in the two provinces must register and get temporary residence permits.Those with homesteads, fields and livestock in Angola were told to report to the Angolan immigration offices at Oshikango, Oshakati or Rundu to apply for permanent residence permits.Ndidalelwa also told the meeting that there are places in southern Angola, such as Oshimolo, that are reserved for grazing purposes and nobody has the right to build a homestead or to fence off land in that area.He said he is aware of some Namibians and Angolans who have built homesteads in Oshimolo and have fenced off some areas. ‘I am now calling upon you to go and to remove those structures, because this is not allowed,’ Ndidalelwa said.A 30-member committee consisting of representatives of the Namibian and Angolan governments has been set up to register all Namibians living illegally in Angola.Ndidalelwa said the Angolan government is also concerned about reports of Namibians stealing cattle belonging to Angolans and driving them across the border to sell them here.