Councillors demand security as migration policy takes shape
Onalenna Kelebeile | Tuesday June 13, 2017 16:32
They said there is no way the economy of the country would improve without laws that are conducive to investors such as effectiveness of borders.
Presenting the draft policy, chief immigration administrator Lekgotla Phiri said effective cross border management system would ensure that borders are open for trade and legal movement but closed for illegal activities. He said that organised and transnational crime syndicates seek to exploit weak or porous borders to pursue profit.
“Movement of people across borders in the Southern African region is increasing due to socio-economic push and pull factors and this is impacting on Botswana,” he said.
He said the policy seeks to ensure effective border management to facilitate migration, uphold national security and to identify and provide assistance to vulnerable migrants. He noted that the policy aims to protect the integrity of Botswana borders and to establish border management procedures geared towards efficient movement of people and goods while safeguarding national security.
The policy would ensure that specialised training with respect to detecting fake or forged travel documents and identity fraud is provided. It would also strengthen immigration forensic capabilities and consider the establishment of an immigration forensic lab to enhance the integrity of travel documents.
Phiri also noted that the policy will also increase awareness among border post officers on migrant smuggling, human trafficking and the right to seek asylum and also provide specialised training to assist officers to identify and assist smuggled migrants, trafficked people and asylum seekers.
Ineffective systems for the issuance of permits and visas can significantly hamper migration and negatively impact on tourism, meeting labour market needs and promoting investment.
Phiri emphasised that the integrity of travel documents is vital hence he said document fraud threatens national and international security and remains an obstacle to safe migration. “The challenges include forgery, theft of identity and travel document and work permit fraud.
The permit will ensure that there is efficiency and uniformity in visa and permit processing and that electronic database for permits and visas,” he said. There will also be measures to ensure that the permit and visa database is effectively linked to the existing border control system and pre-entry vetting processes to streamline vetting at the borders.
Phiri said Botswana is a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. Hence in 2014 the country passed the Anti-Human Trafficking Act prohibiting all forms of trafficking and establishing an inter-ministerial committee to serve as a national coordinating body.
The policy will seek to strengthen legal, institutional and operational responses to effectively combat human trafficking and to protect victims.
He also highlighted that Botswana is a key transit and destination country for irregular migration flows and said conflicts, economic disparity and the need for protection are the driving force behind migrations into Botswana. “Irregular migration undermines the integrity of borders and also raise protection issues for vulnerable migrants,” he noted. The national migration policy would provide a cohesive and holistic approach to migration management for Botswana.