Permanent residence status for 1 350 Chinese

•TUTALENI PINEHAS HOME affairs minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana said government issued around 1 350 permanent residence permits to Chinese nationals from 1990 to February 2017.

She announced these statistics in the National Assembly last week when she was answering questions from Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) member of parliament Mike Kavekotora. According to the statistics by the minister, as of 21 February 2017, the government issued 1 350 permanent residence permits, over 4 400 employment permits, and around 1 100 temporary residence permits to Chinese citizens.

Permanent residency refers to a document which allows a foreign national to stay and become a citizen in Namibia.

The minister said employment permits are granted for 12 months or 24 months, but not over 36 months.

According to Iivula-Ithana, the home affairs ministry performs background checks on foreigners before issuing them with employment permits. A police clearance certificate must accompany the application for a permit to be considered, while applications with unfavourable police clearance will be rejected.

She denied previous media reports that there are 100 000 Chinese nationals in Namibia.

“I unequivocally wish to say the figures reported might have been based on the total figures of Chinese nationals who have frequently visited Namibia since independence as tourists, and those who are holders of permanent residence permits, employment permits and short-term work visas,” she stated.

Meanwhile, international affairs minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who doubles as deputy prime minister, also answered questions about Chinese dealings in Namibia during the same session.

UDF president Apius Auchab asked Nandi-Ndaitwah what government was doing to stop the importing of poor quality goods from China.

“Namibia cannot be a market for low-cost and shoddy goods as the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) was established to ensure that imported goods are of international standards for the protection of the Namibian consumers”, Nandi-Ndaitwah responded.

She added that should any goods enter Namibia illegally, there are national laws which will be enforced, regardless of the country of origin.

“It is, therefore, the responsibility of those institutions, namely the NSI and the law enforcement agencies, to do their work, not only in relation to goods coming from China, but anywhere in the world.”