Electronic IDs to be issued by 2010

THE automation of national documents such as birth certificates, IDs and passports by 2010 is one of the objectives of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration.

Top management and regional supervisors from the ministry participated in a two-day workshop in Swakopmund this week to set goals and strategies for achieving this objective. Permanent Secretary Samuel Goagoseb said the ministry had made major strides in improving its service delivery, He said the major backlog in the issuance of national documents had been done away with, and that the Ministry had reached a point where it was moving ahead.According to him, ID documents were now being issued within 24 days instead of two years as in the past.Passports are issued within 10 working days in Windhoek, compared to 100 days before.According to him, the ministry’s ID departments are making use of advanced fingerprint technology which is making it easier for Government to locate ID holders.The Ministry is also purchasing ten mobile registration vehicles that will be used in rural areas.The information gathered by the mobile teams will be transmitted electronically to headquarters to be printed on ID cards.According to him, the applicants could then have their documents within three days.More advanced technology to automate the issuing of passports and birth certificates was also being introduced, he said.Goagoseb said Namibia had to prepare for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, as well as the African Nations Cup, which will be held in Angola the same year.”The movement of people will have to be facilitated, and due to the tourism prospects such events hold, there will also be security factors that need to be addressed,” he said.He said by then, passports would be linked to a high-level security system, which would in fact transform them into electronic passports, linked to a satellite system for instantaneous reference.Permanent Secretary Samuel Goagoseb said the ministry had made major strides in improving its service delivery, He said the major backlog in the issuance of national documents had been done away with, and that the Ministry had reached a point where it was moving ahead.According to him, ID documents were now being issued within 24 days instead of two years as in the past.Passports are issued within 10 working days in Windhoek, compared to 100 days before.According to him, the ministry’s ID departments are making use of advanced fingerprint technology which is making it easier for Government to locate ID holders.The Ministry is also purchasing ten mobile registration vehicles that will be used in rural areas.The information gathered by the mobile teams will be transmitted electronically to headquarters to be printed on ID cards.According to him, the applicants could then have their documents within three days.More advanced technology to automate the issuing of passports and birth certificates was also being introduced, he said.Goagoseb said Namibia had to prepare for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, as well as the African Nations Cup, which will be held in Angola the same year.”The movement of people will have to be facilitated, and due to the tourism prospects such events hold, there will also be security factors that need to be addressed,” he said.He said by then, passports would be linked to a high-level security system, which would in fact transform them into electronic passports, linked to a satellite system for instantaneous reference.