Botswana’s new president told the BBC he wanted to legalize undocumented Zimbabweans by issuing them temporary work and residence permits.
“The work they are doing could not have been done,” Duma Boko told the BBC Africa Daily podcast ahead of Friday’s historic inauguration.
Botswana has the world’s second-largest community of Zimbabweans fleeing economic hardship in their country – they are often resented and deportations occur daily.
The decision is unlikely to be popular in the diamond-rich southern African country, but Boko, 54, who has just ousted the ruling party of 58 years, says it is part of his plan to revive the economy.
President Boko said it was a challenge for thousands of Zimbabweans to enter Botswana through the long and porous border between the two countries.
“They come in undocumented. Then the amenities they get are restricted, if any, and what they do is live outside the law and commit crimes – and that creates resentment,” he said.
“So what we need to do is formalize it, put in place appropriate arrangements, acknowledge that Zimbabweans are already here.”
It’s unclear how many Zimbabweans are in Botswana, but thousands have come and gone since Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed due to hyperinflation two decades ago. Some also seek political asylum.
Available statistics show that Zimbabweans account for 98% of so-called “irregular migrants”.
Responding to a parliamentary question earlier this year, a minister said that from 2021 to 2023, of the total 13,489 people recorded, 13,189 were Zimbabwean nationals.
Every day, police stations across the country organize the deportations of Zimbabweans arrested for being undocumented or involved in crime.
They tend to work in cheap labor jobs, often as domestic workers and farm workers.
“Many workers from Zimbabwe are engaged in tasks that are not attractive to citizens… They are engaged in work that cannot be done in the first place, so there is no conflict,” Boko said.
However, late last year the government faced strong opposition to its proposal to use identity cards instead of passports when traveling between Botswana and Zimbabwe.
The overall sentiment is that the move will lead to the arrival of more Zimbabweans.
But President Boko told the BBC Africa Daily podcast that his initiative would also be an opportunity for his countrymen to learn basic skills such as welding and plumbing from Zimbabweans.
“On any construction site in Botswana, most of the people who have these skills are from Zimbabwe, so we need to have a two-fold plan where we allow them to come in, we utilize the skills they have and in the process of leveraging those skills we Also engaged in some kind of skills transfer,” he said.
“We can’t stop people with skills coming in when we don’t have the skills ourselves – we need to develop those skills and that takes time, so during the interregnum we need to get them in correctly and legally because of the skills they bring And get appropriate rewards.
Boko, a human rights lawyer who founded the Umbrella Party for Democratic Change (UDC) in 2012, took pains to show he was one of the people and encouraged colleagues around him to take selfies.
His aim, he said, was to break down barriers “to ensure that everyone is easily accessible, not only to be close but also to bring ideas and suggestions”.
His main focus – and the reason he won – was his promise to improve the economy.
He said one of his first moves would be to sign a new deal with global diamond giant De Beers.
Boko believes the agreement is in jeopardy because of the way his predecessor handled diamond sales negotiations.
Boko told the BBC Africa Daily podcast that investors would be confident in Botswana with diamond revenues guaranteed, which would bring money to the country.
It will contribute to his job creation ambitions – 100,000 jobs a year over the next five years.
“We’re facing an unemployment crisis – for a population of 2.4 million, when nearly 30 per cent of them are unemployed, that’s a crisis. It’s a ticking time bomb,” he said.
The new president added that in conjunction with his proposal to share the skills that Zimbabweans bring, he wants young people to engage in business, “become entrepreneurs, employ themselves and employ others”.
“They need affordable financing and market access from the government, which should be facilitated by the government,” Boko said.
His inauguration will take place at the National Stadium in the capital, Gaborone, on Friday, which has been declared a public holiday, and is expected to be attended by international dignitaries.
Additional reporting by Innocent Selatlhwa in Gaborone.
