Shamukuni said this in response to a question posed by Member of Parliament (MP) for Francistown West, Ignatius Moswaane, on Friday. Moswaane had asked whether the minister was aware that refugees are denied residence and work permits despite having lived in Botswana for over 20 years. The legislator also wanted to know if Shamukuni was aware that children who are born of refugee parents are denied tertiary education even in cases of excelling academically. Moreover, he questioned whether the minister was aware that parents are unable to work and sponsor their children because of a lack of work and residence permits and if this isn't a violation of basic human rights.
In the past, there have been concerns over the delay in the processing of work and resident permits as applicants could take four to five months to get the results, leading to speculation that this might be contributing to the decline in applications. However, Shamukuni revealed that, from the records of the Ministry of Justice, refugees apply for work and residence permits in very small numbers. “Last year, in 2023, I supported a total of nine applications involving 42 individuals for onward submissions and processing by my ministry while in 2024 the ministry only received two applications,” he said. “As regards access to education, Botswana offers refugee children education up to senior secondary which is far better than the requirement of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees. Article 12 calls for states to offer elementary (primary) education.
