Foreign men ‘preying on Namibian women’: MPs

NAMIBIAN women have to be cautious when approached by foreign men, as some of them only want to marry so that they can stay in Namibia.

The warning was sounded by a female Swapo MP in the National Council, Rosalia Sibiya, in the House this week. Sibiya said there seemed to be loopholes in the Marriage Act.”If this is the case, this Act needs to be tightened so that people can adhere to the national laws,” she said.Sibiya said civic education was needed to make Namibian women aware of such men who exploited them for personal gain.”Screening and double-checking can be done to assist in this regard,” said Sibiya.She was supported by fellow Swapo MP Yambwa Mwilima, who alleged that some men came to Namibia with hidden agendas.These men, he said, proposed marriage to Namibians, only to divorce them later and return to the country with their real wives.The two were speaking during debate on the budget allocation of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration.* The Ministry of Mines and Energy will complete the restructuring of the electricity supply industry during this financial year, Deputy Minister Henock ya Kasita said yesterday.He told the National Council that of the five regional electricity distributors, the Northern Electricity Distributor (Nored), was already fully operational.ErongoRED and CenoRED started operating on July 1.”SouthernRED should be established towards the end of this year.Inefficiencies in the industry will be minimised once the rationalisation process is completed,” said Ya Kasita.In this financial year, rural electrification will continue in 12 regions of the country, with the exception of Khomas.Ya Kasita told the NC that preference would be given to black empowerment companies in awarding consultancies and contracts for rural electrification.In addition, contracts for electrifying schools, clinics, Police stations and other Government facilities in rural areas would be exclusively awarded to small and medium enterprises from those areas.Sibiya said there seemed to be loopholes in the Marriage Act.”If this is the case, this Act needs to be tightened so that people can adhere to the national laws,” she said.Sibiya said civic education was needed to make Namibian women aware of such men who exploited them for personal gain.”Screening and double-checking can be done to assist in this regard,” said Sibiya.She was supported by fellow Swapo MP Yambwa Mwilima, who alleged that some men came to Namibia with hidden agendas.These men, he said, proposed marriage to Namibians, only to divorce them later and return to the country with their real wives.The two were speaking during debate on the budget allocation of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration.* The Ministry of Mines and Energy will complete the restructuring of the electricity supply industry during this financial year, Deputy Minister Henock ya Kasita said yesterday.He told the National Council that of the five regional electricity distributors, the Northern Electricity Distributor (Nored), was already fully operational.ErongoRED and CenoRED started operating on July 1.”SouthernRED should be established towards the end of this year.Inefficiencies in the industry will be minimised once the rationalisation process is completed,” said Ya Kasita.In this financial year, rural electrification will continue in 12 regions of the country, with the exception of Khomas.Ya Kasita told the NC that preference would be given to black empowerment companies in awarding consultancies and contracts for rural electrification.In addition, contracts for electrifying schools, clinics, Police stations and other Government facilities in rural areas would be exclusively awarded to small and medium enterprises from those areas.