Assessing the communication challenges faced by the deaf persons in accessing public services at Namibia’s Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security

Abstract

This study investigated issues of disability and marginalization in public administration, in particular, the communication challenges faced by the deaf persons in accessing public services at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Safety and Security (MHAISS), Namibia. The study employed a qualitative research approach, whereby a questionnaire and in-depth interviews were done with purposively sampled participants from the Ministry’s front office officials, institutions responsible for the plight of the disabled persons, as well as deaf persons who sought public services from the Ministry. The study’s findings revealed that communication is the biggest challenge experienced by both the Ministry’s front desk employees and the deaf persons. It was also revealed that there is a lack of policies and guidelines at the Ministerial level, aimed at promoting the full participation and equal enjoyment of human rights, especially by persons with disabilities. It was also noted that despite the existence of national regulatory frameworks in this regard, these were not implemented at Ministerial level as well. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made: the need to emphasise the Ministry’s responsibility and commitment towards compliance to the national legislative framework and the impact the services provided by MHAISS has on the achievement of other national goals, as well as the need for comprehensive sign language training to frontline personnel. It was also recommended that efforts should be made to ensure that frontline staff in public services ought to be deaf friendly, while all other staff must be adequately trained to serve the deaf persons. We also noted the importance of harnessing the power of digital technology public facilities to improve communication for deaf people.