Botswana President Duma Boko Set to Legalize Undocumented Zimbabweans By Granting Them Temporary Work and Residence Permits

In a groundbreaking move, Botswana’s newly elected president, Duma Boko, has announced plans to provide temporary work and residence permits to undocumented Zimbabweans in the country.

Duma Boko, who recently made history by unseating Botswana’s ruling party of 58 years, shared his vision for the policy change during an interview with the BBC Africa Daily podcast.

The initiative is intended to address both the challenges and opportunities posed by Zimbabweans living in Botswana, many of whom have fled economic hardships in their home country.

Aiming to Formalize Zimbabwean Presence in Botswana

President Boko, 54, emphasized the need for an organized system to legalize the presence of Zimbabweans.

He acknowledged that while many Zimbabweans work in low-wage roles, such as domestic and farm labor, their undocumented status limits their access to basic amenities and often drives them to live outside the law.

“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.

So what we need to do is to formalise, have a proper arrangement that recognises that people from Zimbabwe are already here,” President Duma Boko said.

President Boko highlighted how a lot Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana take on jobs that local citizens often find undesirable.

“A lot of these workers from Zimbabwe perform tasks that the citizen finds unattractive… they do jobs that would otherwise not get done and so there’s no conflict there,” Duma Boko said

Economic Integration and Skills Development

Boko’s plan aims to not only address labor shortages but also foster skills development among local citizens. He highlighted the opportunity for Batswana to learn essential skills, such as welding and plumbing, from Zimbabwean workers

“In any and every construction site in Botswana the majority of people with those skills are from Zimbabwe, so 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,” he said.

Boko further explained that blocking skilled workers from entering Botswana would hinder the country’s growth, particularly in industries where there are skill shortages.