Barriers to social safety nets require urgent action

During her state of the region address, Kavango West governor Sirkka Ausiku called upon the home affairs ministry to do more in terms of issuing birth registrations and national documents in order for residents in need to benefit from social grants.Ausiku argued that stateless people cannot benefit from government assistance, hence her call.She, however, applauded the ministry for introducing an office in Nkurenkuru, which has brought services closer to the people."Services like e-birth are being introduced in some of our health centres. However, more still needs to be done in terms of birth registration," she said."The region appreciates the ministry’s efforts to carry out outreach programmes in the constituencies to issue national documents because, without national documents, one cannot benefit from the social safety nets."Demonstrations highlight urgency The issue of stateless persons in the Kavango regions is a serious concern. The majority of the individuals are unemployed, yet they are not able to benefit from government grants – a privilege reserved only for those with the necessary paperwork in hand.A demonstration was held in Rundu recently, where protestors called on government to address the issue of stateless people in the Kavango regions.It is estimated there are over 50 000 stateless people in the two Kavango regions, hence the urgent call for government intervention.Namibian Sun has frequently highlighted that some stateless persons in the Kavango regions are immigrants from Angola, who arrived in Namibia often through border-patrol blindspots such as the Kavango River.kenya@namibiansun.com

Barriers to social safety nets require urgent action

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-05

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Barriers to social safety nets require urgent action

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-05

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