The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Lucia Iipumbu, has stressed the importance of birth registration, calling it more than just a right—it is recognition of a child’s identity and existence.

“Absent fathers and absent mothers also please take note of the fact that our children have the right as per Article 16 to have a name. They also have a right to acquire the national documents and to be registered to be part of this population. And we also are reminded that children have the right to be cared for by their parents,” said Iipumbu.

She made the remarks while inaugurating the new sub-regional civic office in Karasburg, which will offer civic registration, immigration and border control services. These include issuing birth and death certificates, study permits, travel visas, and other national documents. However, the issuance of identity documents for citizenship is yet to be rolled out at the office.

The minister also encouraged the public to use online platforms when applying for travel and citizenship documents and called on the community to take ownership of the new facility.

“The office is yours. The office is here to serve you. The office can only live long in terms of infrastructure when you take good care of it. The only assurance that I want to leave with is that it does not end here. We would come to add more components to this office so that it grows, because that growth of the population that I am talking about, even here in Karasburg, is noticed. And we will continue to enlarge the service wheel, making sure all Namibians are catered for,” she said.

Karasburg Mayor Maria Veldskoen welcomed the new development, saying it would ease the burden on residents.

“The long distances that our people had to travel for identity documents, birth certificates, immigration services or police matters will now be reduced. Thanks for your ministry's visionary leadership. This development will greatly enhance access to critical services, improve administrative efficiency and strengthen community safety and public trust,” said Veldskoen.

She also pledged to foster collaboration between the civic office and the local authority council.