Botswana to legalise undocumented Zimbabweans – president
Published: 8/Nov/2024
Source: BBC News
By Mpho Lakaje
Botswana’s new president has told the BBC that he wants undocumented Zimbabweans to be legalised by granting them temporary work and residence permits.
“They do jobs that would otherwise not get done,” Duma Boko told the BBC Africa Daily podcast before his historic inauguration on Friday.
Botswana hosts the world’s second-largest community of Zimbabweans fleeing their country’s economic woes – and they are often resented, with deportations taking place daily.
The decision is not likely to be popular in the diamond-rich southern African nation, but Boko, 54, who has just unseated the ruling party that was in power for 58 years, said it was part of his plans to revive the economy.
LISTEN: BBC Africa Daily interviews President Duma Boko
Botswana’s politician who did the unthinkable
President Boko said it was a challenge when thousands of Zimbabweans entered Botswana through the long and porous border between the two countries.
“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 – and this brings resentment,” he said.
“So what we need to do is to formalise, have a proper arrangement that recognises that people from Zimbabwe are already here.”
It is unclear exactly how many Zimbabweans are in Botswana, but thousands have been coming back and forth since Zimbabwe’s economy imploded because of hyperinflation two decades ago. Some have also sought political refuge.
Read further: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v3l3zr63vo