Women warned against quick fix marriages

IMMIGRATION minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana says young women have misunderstood the concept of marriage which exposes them to risks of being used by foreigners. These foreigners, she said, often only marry locals in order to acquire Namibian citizenship.

“Our girls have understood marriage differently. It is no longer love, it is no longer about being together. It’s about meeting at the magistrate’s court, sign the [marriage] papers and divorce later,” she said.

“As long as her bank account is taken care of afterwards,” Iivula-Ithana added.

The minister made the comment on Friday when she answered questions relating to her N$518 million ministerial budget.

She said the ministry issued around 890 identity certificates to foreign nationals married to Namibians from 2014 to 2015.

Complaints about bogus marriages come five years after the Namibian Constitution was amended to extend the waiting period required for acquiring Namibian citizenship by marriage from two years to 10 years for foreigners “ordinarily residing in Namibia as a spouse”.

Swapo parliamentarian Lucia Witbooi asked the minister of immigration whether the Constitutional amendments have been effective and what more is being done to curb the problem of quick-fix marriages.

Iivula-Ithana’s response was also directed at DTA president McHenry Venaani who asked her whether she is aware of Namibian women who send their “hard earned money” to men abroad who they have only met via the Internet.

“What is wrong with our sisters?” he asked.

Venaani also questioned what the ministry is doing to root out corrupt officials who are lured by money to dish out work permits to foreigners.

Daily newspaper New Era reported last year that the immigration ministry received at least two requests a week from Namibian women married to foreigners, asking for assistance to trace their husbands.

Iivula-Ithana said there is need for further discussion to stop the problems under discussion.

The Namibian reported in 2013 that the ministry of immigration was investigating a Lutheran pastor for conducting bogus marriages between young Namibian women and men from Arab countries.

Iivula-Ithana told the National Assembly last week that pastors who wish to be appointed as marriage officers will have to write exams. For such exams opportunities will be available in Windhoek twice a month.

The minister also said that she is working to cut out a syndicate involved in fixing national documents for foreigners. The ministry issued over 52 000 visas and permits while 2 807 applications were rejected due to non-compliance with necessary requirements from 2014 to 2015.

Iivula-Ithana admitted that there are several companies that have been misleading them in order to get work permits. “They do so fraudulently. You are told the person is an expert and a permit is granted. The person later turns out to be pushing wheelbarrows,” she said.

Another question raised during the debate on the home affairs ministry budget came from DTA member Vipuakuje Muharukua who said the Ovahimba people are being sidelined from receiving government grants because of national documents.

He said a child of an Omuhimba woman born out of wedlock is not registered under the father’s name but under the name of the mother’s father.

That means the grandfather becomes the father of his grandchild. This causes confusion with home affairs officials who question how it is possible for the grandfather to be the father of his daughter’s child. The child thus does not qualify for a government grant because of a lack of national documents.

Iivula-Ithana promised to respond to Muharukua’s questions after consulting her team.

She also revealed that several women have registered their children under the name of two fathers, while there were men who went to the ministry claiming to be fathers while they are not.

The minister also promised to improve things at the ministry saying the current changes are just the tip of the iceberg.

She also promised to look at combining national documents such as the identification card and the passport into one electronic card in a bid to go digital and remove hard copy documents.