Home affairs scores 50% customer service rating

Nearly half of Namibians remain dissatisfied with services offered by the home affairs and immigration ministry, according to findings from a citizen satisfaction survey.

Speaking at the inaugural Namibia Customer Care and Effective Service Delivery Conference in Windhoek last week, home affairs minister Lucia Iipumbu said the survey recorded an overall public satisfaction rating of 54%, while the then home affairs ministry achieved a customer satisfaction rating of approximately 50%.

"For us, these findings were not treated as a public criticism to be dismissed; they were received as a call to improve, to modernise and to serve better," she said.

“When service is poor, the damage goes beyond one frustrated customer,” she added.

“It affects confidence in institutions, confidence in leadership, confidence in the economy and confidence in the country.”

On the other hand, “when service is excellent, it creates pride. It tells citizens that they matter. It tells visitors that Namibia is organised and welcoming. It tells investors that Namibia is serious," she said.

Iipumbu admitted that significant challenges remain, noting that the ministry has prioritised "service discipline", instructing officials not to invent their own procedures, not to create unnecessary barriers, and not to "treat citizens as interruptions to their work".

She said public officials "must not forget that the public office is a place of service, not a place of privilege".

The minister stressed that service delivery extends beyond administrative processes and is central to governance, public trust and national development.

"Customer care has become the visible face of governance. Every counter, reception desk, call centre, border post, police station, public office and digital platform is a point at which trust is either strengthened or weakened," she said.

How can we serve you?

Iipumbu highlighted persistent shortcomings affecting service excellence, including long waiting times, weak communication, fragmented processes, limited accountability and avoidable delays.

The minister said government has introduced a number of reforms aimed at improving experiences when accessing public services.

These include investments in modern service facilities, digitisation initiatives, improvements in identity and civil registration services, strengthened customer care practices, and efforts to reduce turnaround times.

In November 2025, the ministry announced that counter services would operate throughout lunchtime from 1 December 2025 as part of efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to services, but despite this initiative, the public still recorded satisfactory results.

The reforms also include strengthened civil registration systems, with staff deployed in state hospitals and the introduction of an electronic birth notification system across selected public and private hospitals to improve timely registration of births.