"The ministry will issue a statement detailing how to get the new passport and the recalling of the old one," Lebogang Bok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs has said. She explained that not every Motswana will be eligible to get the electronic passport to be introduced next March. She stated that they will not automatically replace the current passport with the e-passport but "people will be required to make fresh applications as and when the need arises". Bok emphasised that issuance of the passport will be done through screening to ensure that it is only given to those who need it. "The electronic passport will be issued to deserving citizens of Botswana just like the current passport. It should be noted that a passport is a travel document and it is issued for that purpose only, hence not all Batswana need to have it," Bok said.
A German company Giesecke and Devrient (GD) was awarded the P120 million tender in November, 2008 to produce the e-passport. The tender was awarded at a time when Botswana had received a warning from European countries to improve its passport security features. The poor security features has made it easy for Botswana passport to be forged by criminals.
