13 Mar 2018

The national identity card (Omang) was first issued in 1988 and is renewed every 10 years, says Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu

  He said as a result the 10th year came with massive renewals of the ID card hence congestion and long queues at almost all Omang offices countrywide, including the Francistown office.

Mr Batshu explained that the national registration register showed that 212 970 cards were expected to expire this year while 42 562 persons were expected to turn 16 years and qualify for the national ID cards, bringing the total work load for 2018 to 255 532.

Mr Batshu said his ministry had developed strategies to deal with the challenge of congestion and long queues.

He said they had set up support teams which would from time to time be deployed to the hot spot areas to support local staff.

He further said the ministry would strengthen the outreach programme by embarking on field trips to areas away from district headquarters on a fortnightly basis.

The trips, he added, were meant to register renewals and fresh applications as well as distribution of uncollected cards.

In addition, he said as from 1st April, 2018 they would operate dedicated desks for Omang services only,  and that one would  operate in Francistown and three in Gaborone and elsewhere as the need arose.

He told Parliament that there would be an extension of hours of work in targeted Omang offices by up to two hours (16:30-18:30 hours) at identified hot spot areas, and up to three hours (16:30-19:30 hours) at the Omang production centre depending on work load.

In addition to the interventions, Mr Batshu said senior management team members had been allocated specific districts for close monitoring and supervision.

“My ministry takes the issue of congestion and long queues very seriously as failure to obtain an Omang timeously impacts on the lives of Batswana in many ways,” he said.

He also highlighted that the ministry was concerned about cases of forgery and false information or declaration in some cases, and pleaded for avoidance of such acts as they were punishable by law and also delayed issuance of Omang pending investigations.

Furthermore, Minister Batshu raised concern about uncollected Omang cards in many of the stations across the country, adding that by the end of February 2018, uncollected Omang cards stood at 23 680 across the country.

He urged Batswana to collect their cards to avoid losing out on opportunities and benefits of having a valid Omang card.

The MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi had wanted to know if the minister was aware of the congestion experienced daily at the Omang offices in Francistown.

The minister was also asked to state the main cause of the congestion and delays in assisting clients as well as plans in place to correct the situation. ENDS