Botswana plans to legalise undocumented Zimbabweans to boost economy

This is part of President Duma Boko’s strategy to revive the economy.

The Zimbabweans will be given temporary work and residence permits rather than face deportations like they have over time.

Boko told the BBC he hopes that the large Zimbabwean population fleeing economic woes in their country would be properly recognised and motivated to engage in formal work instead of criminal activities.

"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."

President Boko added that the initiative will also provide an opportunity for Botswana citizens to learn basic skills like welding and plumbing from Zimbabweans.

"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.

"We can’t stop people with skills from coming in when we don't have the skills ourselves - we need to develop these skills and it takes time, so in the interregnum we need to have them come in properly, come in legally and be rewarded appropriately for the skills that they bring."

Statistics show that over 98% of immigrants in Botswana are Zimbabweans.

Earlier, a minister said in parliament that of the 13,489 immigrants recorded in Botswana, 13,189 were Zimbabweans.

Most of these immigrants are arrested for lacking papers or being involved in crimes.