Khama declares 133 prohibited immigrants
Tefo Pheage | Friday December 18, 2015 13:45
This was revealed by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs at a press conference this week. According to minister Edwin Batshu most of the deported illegal migrants are Zimbabweans. Batshu said over 100 foreigners, of various nationalities, were declared prohibited immigrants.
Khama has come under heavy criticism from various stakeholders on his clandestine deportations of foreign nationals. His predecessor, Festus Mogae, stated in a recent interview that he had deported only one individual, Professor Kenneth Good. He however insisted that the respected Austrian academic was not declared a prohibited immigrant, but his residence permit had expired and the government of Botswana did not renew it.
The repatriations are proving costly to the government.
“For this year, 10,204 illegal migrants were repatriated at a cost of P190, 087.01. Of these, 10 118 were Zimbabweans and the rest from various nationalities. We also repatriated 133 prohibited immigrants at the cost of P102 330, 00. Total expenditure for both illegal and prohibited immigrants is P292 417, 00,” Batshu said at a recent press conference.
The Zimbabweans, however, always find their way back to Botswana immediately after repatriation as they enter the country through illegal entry points. The immigrants were deported for not having proper travel documents and residence permits.
The reasons for these rejections in terms of the Immigration Act include; security consideration, availability of suitable skills, authenticity of information and documents supplied. Detractors, among them Mogae, argue that the deportations create a sense of uncertainity and fear on the part of foreigners whose next day in Botswana is not guaranteed. This they further say has adversely affected foreign direct investment and continue to do so.
The Ministry revealed that it had received 14, 666 applications for residence permits, approved 11, 814 and rejected 3,592 while 609 are still pending and are outside the service standard. Batshu revealed that this is an area where his Ministry is not doing well.
In 2013, the Ministry introduced a point-based system to determine eligibility for residence and work permits. Prior to the system, the assessment of applications for work and residence permits was done by the eight regional immigrants selection boards, which were found to be lacking uniformity, consistency, objectivity, transparency and professionalism.
The Point Based System was introduced to address complaints by some unsuccessful applicants who questioned the system used to assess their applications. The tool was first introduced on April 18, 2012, but still some applicants expressed concern that it did not address their needs, thereby leading to its review. The revised tool reduced the pass mark from 75 percent to 60 percent and came into effect on February 1, 2013.
Batshu stated that in addition, 265 permanent residence permits were received and 76 approved while 189 were rejected.
As for exemptions, the minister said 1,469 were received, 1,463 approved with only six rejected.
While there has been much controversy surrounding issuance of Visas, the Ministry says the average approval rate for permits and visas stands at 72%.
“The Ministry also received 4,698 applications for visa, approved 4,335 and rejected 346 and 17 pending for various reasons,” the minister said.