OSHAKATI: Managers and supervisors of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration are gathered here to deliberate on and prepare the ministry’s budget cycles for the 2013/14 and 2015/16 financial years.
The budget management planning retreat, which commenced on Monday and runs until Friday, is being attended by managers and supervisors from the ministry’s head office and regional offices.
“This is a bold step taken by the ministry to bring managers and supervisors together to review our budget programme,” Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa said while opening the workshop officially on Wednesday.
Nghidinwa told the gathering that her ministry prioritised the amendment of legislations that govern its operation, construction of regional offices, the establishment of sub-regional offices and the introduction of the border-control system.
Some of the ministry’s priorities include the opening of additional crossing and entry points with neighbouring countries, particularly Angola; the automation of birth, marriage and death records and the upgrading of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
Nghidinwa said she was happy to note that her ministry has made progress on its priorities programme, adding that since 2005 regional offices were constructed at Ondangwa, Rundu, Swakopmund, Mariental and Gobabis.
Sub-regional offices have also been established at Ruacana, Okahao, Omungwelume, Okongo, Omuthiya, Kahenge, Mukwe, Chetto, Linyanti, Impalila, Tsumkwe, Okakarara, Omaruru, Khorixas, Kamanjaba, Aminius, Otjombinde, Karasburg and Lüderitz. Another highlight was the opening of offices at 22 hospitals across the country.
Nghidinwa called on managers in the ministry to introduce measures to compel staff members to perform in a satisfactory manner by setting targets on the volume of work to be done per day.
The Home Affairs and Immigration Minister said she has observed that some staff members “do little” during office hours in order to create backlog, which then results in the employees requesting to work overtime.
“This practice should be stopped and supervisors must monitor their subordinates closely to ensure that every staff member meets the set targets,” Nghidinwa demanded.
Also during the opening, Oshana Regional Governor Clemens Kashuupulwa in a speech read on his behalf by his special advisor, Michael Mwinga appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration to construct a “decent” office at Oshakati as the existing premises are too small.