HARARE – Botswana President Duma Boko and President Emmerson Mnangagwa have renewed calls for passport-free travel between their two countries, raising a proposal that was shelved after a fierce backlash from Botswana’s parliament in 2023.
The two leaders made the remarks on Wednesday as they witnessed the signing of 11 memoranda of understanding – including one on immigration cooperation – during Boko’s state visit to Harare.
Mnangagwa said the two countries shared more than a diplomatic relationship and called for a phased system that would allow citizens to use national identity documents instead of passports, starting with border communities and short-term travel.
“The people of Zimbabwe and Botswana are one family,” Mnangagwa said. “Bonds between Zimbabwe and Botswana are not merely diplomatic; they are historical, cultural and deeply rooted in our shared heritage, solidarity, as well as common aspirations for peace, development and prosperity for our countries and peoples.
“While borders separate jurisdictions, our communities – and even our wildlife – continue to move freely.
“We must move decisively to ease the movement of people, goods and services.”
Mnangagwa said harmonised immigration systems, one-stop border posts and digital clearance platforms remained priorities.
Boko said Botswana was developing cryptographic national identity cards that would allow travellers to store their credentials on a smartphone, removing the need to carry a physical document.
“Wherever you go, you can just tap on the go,” Boko said, adding that the technology would need to be compatible on both sides of the border to be effective.
Boko said migration between the two countries was natural and should not be treated as a problem.
“Many Zimbabweans go to Botswana and request to settle there. They will emigrate from Zimbabwe to Botswana and others emigrating from Botswana to Zimbabwe because they see opportunities and at any rate we are the same people, so there should not be any difficulty in that regard,” he said.
“Problems arise where others think these people are coming to take their jobs,” he added.
The latest push echoes an announcement made in late 2023, when Mnangagwa and then-Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi said they had agreed to abolish passport requirements at entry points.
The announcement was met with fury in Gaborone’s National Assembly. Botswana’s Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Annah Mokgethi, was forced to read a statement to parliament clarifying that no agreement had been signed and that proper processes would have to be followed before any implementation.
MPs from across the political divide rounded on the proposal.
Francistown MP Wynter Mmolotsi warned that border towns were already struggling with the pressure of migrants.
“The health system in Francistown is already overburdened by Zimbabweans. Some come here to illegally mine gold. If we open up, without even knowing it, we will have more Zimbabweans than the entire Francistown population,” he said at the time.
Opposition leader Dithapelo Keorapetse questioned whether Masisi had consulted anyone before making the announcement.
“We don’t know who President Masisi was representing when he reached this agreement with Mnangagwa or the government of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Botswana already has a passport-free travel arrangement with Namibia, which came into effect in February 2023 without controversy.
Critics in parliament argued that Zimbabwe, with its larger emigrant population and weaker economy, presented a different proposition.
Wednesday’s MOU on immigration cooperation suggests both governments intend to keep the discussion alive, though no signed agreement on identity-document travel has yet been reached.
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