Govt acts on refugee’s papers

THE Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday moved to end the more than a year-long wait for travel documents by a refugee and his Namibian wife.

Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Niilo Taapopi said he had asked to meet with Jose Manuel Mananga Conde and his wife, Vesta Rebekka Conde, to “sort out a small issue” and that it should not take long before they received a passport. The Condes last week informed the Government Attorney that they intended to sue the Minister of Home Affairs, Jerry Ekandjo, and the Commissioner for Refugees, Elizabeth Negumbo, because of poor service, incompetence and what they termed “bureaucratic brutality”.They accused Home Affairs of failing to respond to repeated inquiries about their application for the renewal of Jose Conde’s travel documents.The first application was apparently lost, and when he submitted another one, there was no feedback on the progress of his application.”We must have written between eight and 10 letters in the course of the last 12 months or so. None of the letters received even the common courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt of those letters,” Conde said in an affidavit prepared for the High Court.As a musician, Conde said, the lack of a passport meant he could not travel for performances outside Namibia.He could also not visit his wife’s family as they had planned to do over the December holidays.Taapopi said yesterday that Conde was called to the Ministry last week to clear up confusion over what names would go onto the passport.”On the refugee card he is Manuel Manganga and on the passport [that the Ministry previously issued] he is Manuel Conde.He has no other problem.Nothing related to security or criminality.There is no problem really,” said Taapopi, adding that he hoped the matter would be cleared soon.The Ministry has often come under fire from the public for poor service.”The population is too small but the demand [for documents] is very high,” said Taapopi.The Permanent Secretary said his Ministry often received more than 100 applications a day for passports and emergency travel documents.”Sometimes they can print 800 passports a day,” he said.Taapopi said his Ministry would go on “retreat” at Swakopmund between March 8 and 12 for a “strategic planning workshop” about how to improve the work in civic affairs.The Condes last week informed the Government Attorney that they intended to sue the Minister of Home Affairs, Jerry Ekandjo, and the Commissioner for Refugees, Elizabeth Negumbo, because of poor service, incompetence and what they termed “bureaucratic brutality”. They accused Home Affairs of failing to respond to repeated inquiries about their application for the renewal of Jose Conde’s travel documents. The first application was apparently lost, and when he submitted another one, there was no feedback on the progress of his application. “We must have written between eight and 10 letters in the course of the last 12 months or so. None of the letters received even the common courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt of those letters,” Conde said in an affidavit prepared for the High Court. As a musician, Conde said, the lack of a passport meant he could not travel for performances outside Namibia. He could also not visit his wife’s family as they had planned to do over the December holidays. Taapopi said yesterday that Conde was called to the Ministry last week to clear up confusion over what names would go onto the passport. “On the refugee card he is Manuel Manganga and on the passport [that the Ministry previously issued] he is Manuel Conde. He has no other problem. Nothing related to security or criminality. There is no problem really,” said Taapopi, adding that he hoped the matter would be cleared soon. The Ministry has often come under fire from the public for poor service. “The population is too small but the demand [for documents] is very high,” said Taapopi. The Permanent Secretary said his Ministry often received more than 100 applications a day for passports and emergency travel documents. “Sometimes they can print 800 passports a day,” he said. Taapopi said his Ministry would go on “retreat” at Swakopmund between March 8 and 12 for a “strategic planning workshop” about how to improve the work in civic affairs.