- President Boko to formalise process after championing it last year
- Zimbabwe High Commission currently processes 150 people a day
- President Boko envisions a two-way arrangement that entails skills transfer
BONGANI MALUNGA
Legalisation of undocumented Zimbabweans in Botswana has commenced after the Zimbabwean High Commission held talks with the Botswana Government to formalise the process.
The move was championed by President Duma Boko in November last year when he emphasized the importance of absorbing undocumented Zimbabweans into the country’s informal workforce for the purpose of skills transfer in areas like welding, construction and plumbing.
It is estimated that there are over 150 000 Zimbabweans living in Botswana. The Zimbabwean High Commission has been tasked with compiling a list of Zimbabweans in Botswana in order to ease the documentation process.
Meaningful contribution
According to media reports in Zimbabwe, the country’s High Commission to Botswana assists up to 150 people per day seeking passport renewals, birth certificates and various permits.
Last month, Zimbabwe’s High Commissioner to Botswana, Henry Mukonoweshuro, told Zimbabwean media outlet Zim Eye that discussions with Botswana’s Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs were already underway.
The talks are expected to continue this year as President Boko’s plans will be formalised. “We welcome President Boko’s commitment to documenting our people,” said the High Commissioner. “It ensures trust and traceability, allowing them to seek employment and contribute meaningfully.”
Access to amenities
Last year, President Boko stated that the move would be beneficial to Batswana by learning vital skills from Zimbabweans. “They do jobs that would otherwise not get done,” he said.
“They come in and are undocumented. Then their access to amenities is limited, if it is available at all, and what they then do is they live outside the law and they commit crimes.
“This brings about resentment. What we need to do is to formalise, have a proper arrangement that recognises that people from Zimbabwe are already here.”
Twin programme
Boko proposed a two-way programme that would see the Zimbabweans’ workmanship being emulated by Batswana in specialised areas. “In any and every construction site in Botswana, the majority of people with those skills are from Zimbabwe,” he noted.
“We need to do a twin programme of allowing them to come in and we utilise the skills that they have and in the process of utilising these skills, we also engage in some sort of skills transfer.”