17 December 2023
There is no signed agreement between Botswana and Zimbabwe on the use of National identity cards (IDs) to cross the countries’ shared borders.
Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Annah Mokgethi clarified in Parliament on December 14, that the use of National IDs to travel between Botswana and Zimbabwe had not yet been formalised.
Mokgethi said it was not wrong for presidents to share what they considered to be within the interests of their respective nations, especially given that it is within the continent’s development agenda.
Presenting a statement in Parliament, Mokgethi assured Batswana that processes and procedures would be undertaken before implementation could take place.
More importantly, Mokgethi said upon the adoption of acceptance of regulatory standards, the two countries would enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). She emphasised it is imperative to address issues of concern before embarking on such an initiative.
She said the decision would take into account security measures of the IDs as well as border management control, stability, traceability of migration patterns as well as economies and beneficiation on the use of IDs as travel documents.
Responding to a question from Francistown West Member of Parliament, Ignatius Moswaane who had asked about the security and precautionary measures to be considered, Minister Mokgethi said before finalising such an agreement, an impact assessment study would form part of what would be done at the initial stage of the discussions.
Minister Mokgethi assured Moswaane and other legislators that no deal had been struck yet. Francistown South MP, Wynter Mmolotsi highlighted that Francistown was already overwhelmed by the influx of Zimbabwe nationals as it stands, which he said was already a drain on national health facilities and other services provided by the city, among others.
Mmolotsi said it is important to get the views of communities in localities including Francistown and the North East as they would be directly impacted by the development. He said the decision would have implications on the lives of the people in Francistown such as the high likelihood of a hike in crime.
Mokgethi advised for the agreement be guided by the framework of the law as it was allowed by the Immigration Act, stressing due diligence would be done before a final decision is made.
According to Minister Mokgethi, SADC is working on regional integration, the priority of which is free movement, with Botswana at the forefront.
Pursuant to the African Union Agenda 2063 on the free movement of people in the continent and the Pan African Forum for Migration and the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement initiative, Mokgethi said Botswana continues to explore opportunities that facilitate the movement of people, goods and services.
She explained that bilateral arrangements between SADC countries enabling the use the IDs in place of travel documents, which is amenable to the region, is just one of the strategic moves to enable and operationalise the initiative. She further said it is for that reason that in February 2023, Botswana entered into an agreement with Namibia regarding the use of national identity cards between their borders.
She said the move has eased the movement of individuals, groups of people, business communities and frequent travellers of both countries.
“Ease of doing business, visits to relatives, travelling for various reasons has improved,” she said.
Mokgethi said exploring free movement between Botswana and Zimbabwe during the recent Kusi Ideas Festival panel discussion featuring President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, his Zimbabwe counterpart, Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa and other participants, Dr Mnangagwa made comments acknowledging and appreciating the discussion he had with President Masisi on facilitating free movement between the two nations using national IDs.
However, Mokgethi hastened to indicate that the agreement was in principle, adding that the relevant officials and technocrats would advise accordingly towards working out an arrangement as to how the proposed easing of movement would be carried out.
“As the Ministry responsible for migration, civil and national registration, we have observed various reactions from members of the public as well as from social media locally, regionally and far afield on this matter.
We have found it fitting to put this matter into perspective,” she said.
She said the idea of using IDs to cross borders stemmed from the desire to facilitate free trade as well as the movement of people, goods and services in line with the aspirations of the African free trade agreement.
“As a nation, we need to leverage on the free, orderly and regular movement of people within the region to facilitate our economic growth.
The African Agenda 2063, the Africa We Want, has identified the free movement of Africans as the strategic pillar that can harness and enhance economic growth,” she said.
Source: https://dailynews.gov.bw/news-detail/77074
