ZIMBABWE and Botswana will forge ahead with eliminating passport requirements for citizens travelling between the two countries in line with regional and continental aspirations of facilitating the free movement of people across borders.
Addressing a Press briefing after the Fourth Session of the
Zimbabwe-Botswana Bi-National Commission Summit here yesterday, both President
Mnangagwa and his counterpart President Mokgweetsi Masisi reaffirmed their
commitment to facilitating seamless movement of people and goods across the
shared borders, boosting economic activity and strengthening regional
integration.
President Mnangagwa said passport requirements were
vestiges of a fraught colonial past that was no longer fit for purpose in a
fast-integrating region.
On his part, President Masisi dismissed the notion that the
removal of passport requirements would lead to an influx of illegal immigrants
into the neighbouring country, saying those views were driven by unjustified
prejudice.
It is envisaged that once passport requirements have been
removed, travellers would only require their respective national identity
documents to travel between the two countries.
This initiative aligns with broader efforts within the
Southern African Development Community and the African Union (AU) to promote
free movement of people on the continent.
“The history of our respective countries shows that we
didn’t have passports to move from one country to another. Passports were
brought by those who thought they were more civilised than us.
“We have decided that between Zimbabwe, Botswana, South
Africa, and Mozambique in our region . . . we have a policy of integration. I
don’t know what word you use in Setswana to say integration but in Shona we say
kubatana,” said President Mnangagwa.
President Masisi said consultations between Harare and
Gaborone for rolling out the proposed initiative were ongoing.
“There is ongoing very positive consultation between the
Governments of Botswana and Zimbabwe,” said President Masisi.
“There have been exchanges of what is required to enable
that including issues like security vetting of the instruments; comparability
of instruments used and many other things, just like we did with Namibia.”
Botswana and Namibia removed passport requirements for
their citizens early last year, making the two the first countries in southern
Africa to implement such a system.
“As leaders we have expressed a desire to do this, not
because we want it among ourselves only, but it’s a long-standing resolution
and intention as pronounced not just by Sadc but the AU. So we don’t claim to own or be the
originators of these things. We are the deliverers of it,” said President
Masisi.
He said the initiative would not lead to heightened illegal
migration but using an ID to cross borders would make cross-border movement
between the two countries more efficient.
“There is a break in logic here; the ID itself and the
permission of it to become a travel document does not correlate with an influx
(of illegal immigrants) because it is still a filter,” President Masisi said.
“What it does is that it provides a greater opportunity for
people to travel legally. There is still a border that they have to cross. It
doesn’t mean they have to have an ID to skip a border; they still become
illegal even if they have an ID. You are still an illegal immigrant if you have
a valid passport that was not stamped at the border. So we must separate
these.”
Part of the Zimbabwe delegation to the Fourth Session of
the Zimbabwe-Botswana Bi-National Commission Summit
He said fears of an influx of illegal migrants were
misplaced.
Botswana, he said, had a long history of accepting
Zimbabweans into their country since the days of the liberation struggle when
refugees fleeing the war flocked into the neighbouring country.
“I think people get caught up in this emotional association
that is not logical and certainly not necessarily true. This is where
xenophobia begins.
“When you, my brothers and sisters, develop an attitude
usually without real explanation, you will break relations. Not so long ago
when Zimbabwe was fighting for its liberation, we readily accepted them and
opened our doors to refugees. Now they are not coming as refugees,” said
President Masisi. Herald
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