The former High Court judge described present immigration processes as 'stringent' saying they held the country back from its economic diversification objectives. "If we talk of diversification, we talk of different investors. Since our population is small, why can't we allow foreigners to be with us?"Dow said that for economic diversification to be successful, the government should provide legal frameworks that support foreign participation. She stated that attaining full economic diversification would be a difficult task if Batswana did not change their attitudes towards productivity and wealth from the land. "Government says we have a shortage of land, but that is not true.
We don't have good plans on the land. Capitalism demands that people strive to own property. Economic diversification can only be attainable when everyone strives to be wealthy because wealth creation for the nation starts at an individual level," she submitted. Another panellist, Barolong Mouwane, an entrepreneur and writer said Botswana needs to change its immigration policies to benefit foreigners and attract talented people around the world. While the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs is implementing a point-based system which it says gives clarity to its permit review system, many stakeholders say its thresholds are still too high for most applicants.
