Masisi non-committal on Zambian Omang crossing
Mompati Tlhankane | Monday January 29, 2024 06:00
A gentlemen’s agreement between Masisi and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa caused confusion last year. So the former decided to tread carefully on border crossing when he revealed outcomes from his talks with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Hichilema was here this week on a working visit where the two the Presidents toured the 923-metre long Kazungula Bridge which connects Botswana and Zambia. He and Masisi discussed a lot specifically concerning the Kazungula Bridge which is meant to expand trade and regional integration across Southern Africa.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Masisi was a bit cagey when questioned whether he had proposed that Batswana and Zambians could cross into both countries using national identity cards (Omang), similar to Botswana's arrangement with Namibia. He said there is an appetite for the arrangement from the Zambian side and therefore they have agreed to enhance their dialogue and consult technically. “We are committed through these talks to discuss this issue. Good times are coming for both countries,” Masisi said, adding he had now invited Hichilema for a state visit where the national identity cards possible use will be amongst the major issues they will talk about. Hichilema however revealed that part of what they would like to conclude as countries is to ease movement because a passport is usually full within a short time.
“We need to change the way we do business. Before these borders were drawn for us we were one community and this river was not a boundary,” he said. In terms of the Zimbabwean backlash, Mnangagwa’s Kusi Ideas Festival statement last year led to confusion, with some Zimbabweans reportedly heading to Botswana borders with national identity cards. Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Anna Mokgethi later defended the Masisi and Mnangagwa agreement in Parliament, stating that technocrats would finalise the issue at the instruction of both Presidents.
Mokgethi clarified then that the agreement has not been finalised, emphasising that Mnangagwa and Masisi’s comments were expressions of gratitude and a discussion on the possibility of using IDs as a travel document for citizens of both countries. Legislators expressed concerns over the lack of consultation on the matter. Pursuant to the aspirations of the African Union Agenda 2063 on the free movement of people in the continent, the PAN African Forum for Migration, African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) initiative, Botswana wants to explore opportunities to facilitate the movement of people, goods, and services.
The country’s strategic move according to government is to enable and operationalise the above initiatives is to use the National Identity card/Omang as a travel document in bilateral arrangements with SADC countries which are amenable to the concept. After the Kazungula talks, Botswana wants to leverage on free, orderly, secure and regular movement of people within the region to facilitate the country’s economic growth. The African Agenda 2063 has also identified free movement of Africans as a strategic pillar that harnesses and enhances economic growth.