National migration policy to clamp down on illegal migrants

Speaking at the Pitso on Irregular Migration held at Maharaja Conference Centre yesterday, Batshu said the current policy to arrest and repatriate illegal immigrants had not yielded satisfactory results considering that the country continues to experience high illegal cross-border flow. He said Botswana repatriates an average of 42,111 illegal migrants annually, adding that they have spent over P2million on the repatriation exercise since 2011.

“In 2010, the Immigration Act was reviewed in an effort to strengthen immigration controls. The penalties for irregular stay and hiring of illegal migrants were reviewed. The penalty amount for overstaying in the country was increased from P10 to P100 per day. However, this has not reduced irregular migration and over staying which propelled us to look for better ways to manage this challenge,” he explained.