03 Feb 2014

The Namibian government has been advised to speed up the clearance exercise for refugees seeking to return home.

Dukwi Refugee Camp manager, Mr Bonang Leepo said this at the handing over of eight Namibian refugees who voluntarily repatriated on Janaury 29. Mr Leepo said if clearance was done in the shortest time possible, more refugees would be able to return back home.

“If clearance can take up to 11 months, some people will give up and end up changing their mind about returning to Namibia,” Mr Leepo said. He, however, thanked the Namibian government for welcoming the refugees back and assured them that the returnees were able bodied and had been trained in various vocational disciplines.

The eight refugees, consisting of four families, headed home after years at the Dukwi camp. Initially, 16 people were expected to return to Namibia, but the others dropped off during the process for various reasons.

Welcoming them, one of the Namibian officials, Mr Lawrence Sampofu encouraged the returnees to work hard in order to contribute to the ever increasing demand for progressive socio-economic development in the country.

He also thanked Botswana and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) office from both countries for their efforts in ensuring a safe and sound return of their brothers and sisters.

The commissioner for refugees in Namibia, Mr Nkrumah Mushelenga emphasised the need to speed up the process of voluntary repatriation so that more people could return home.

“The time has come for the two countries to strengthen efforts to sensitise the Namibian community living in Botswana to come back home,” he said. Mr Mushelenga added that no one qualifies to be a refugee anymore as Namibia had long stabilised and was now the best place for one to live in.

In order to encourage more refugees to return, a number of incentives have been put in place by the Namibian government and their respective UNHCR office.

“We are offering US$100 to any adult refugee coming back home and US$50 to children returnees,” he explained. Mr Mushelenga emphasised however that this would only be valid on those who relocate within six months. In addition to the money incentive, construction material is availed to help the returnees start  building themselves homes upon their return.

This, he said, was also valid for a specific period only. “Birth certificates will also be processed at the border for young children within the six months period,” he said. Mr Mushelenga said the current group of returnees follow a previous group of 22 who went back to Namibia in the 2012-2013 financial year.
Mr Mushelenga had some tough words for Namibian refugees still living in Botswana.

“At some point there will be a deadline for those who want to return, after which those who will be left in Botswana will see what to do about their status as there is no reason for forcing these people if they want to remain refugees,” he warned. ENDS