gIMBABWE and Botswana are moving forward with removing passport requirements for citizens traveling between the two countries, with the government already working to improve the modalities and operational framework to allow people to use identity documents to cross the border.
The agreement between President Mnangagwa and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, which is in line with regional and continental aspirations to facilitate the free movement of people across borders, is already being implemented in East Africa and Europe.
Within the broader East African Community, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya allow cross-border travel without passports. In April last year, Botswana and Namibia signed a similar agreement. These countries became the first countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to abolish the use of passports.
The EU Council governments recently announced that as of March 31, citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, two EU member states, will no longer need a passport to travel by air or sea to most other EU countries as well as Norway. And Switzerland.
The decision expands the passport-free travel zone in the European Union, called the Schengen Area, to include 25 of the 27 European Union countries. The Schengen Area also includes Norway and Switzerland, which are not part of the European Union, but does not include EU members Ireland and Cyprus.
At a recent press conference held after the fourth session of the Zimbabwe-Botswana Bilateral National Commission Summit in Botswana, Presidents Mnangagwa and Masisi reaffirmed their commitment to facilitating the smooth movement of people and goods across the common border to enhance economic activity and promote regional integration.
It is envisaged that once the passport requirements are removed, travelers will only need their national identity documents to travel between the two countries.
This initiative is consistent with broader efforts within SADC and the African Union to promote the free movement of people on the continent.
In an interview yesterday, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said everything is in place to do away with the passport requirement with the government now finalizing the modalities.
“The president and his counterpart spoke and agreed on this issue and we are moving forward as planned. He added: “We are ready to implement what the presidents of the two countries agreed upon, on the basis of the good relationship between them.”
“This is going to be extraordinary and we are excited as a country to be part of this phenomenon.”
President Mnangagwa recently said that the history of the two countries showed that there was no need to use passports to move from one country to another.
He said the passport requirements were a relic of a fraught colonial past that was no longer fit for purpose in a rapidly assimilating region.
President Masisi said eliminating passport requirements between the two countries would form great partnerships between the two countries, while also attracting investment opportunities.
In a video clip circulated on various social media platforms, the Botswana leader told parliamentarians in that country that people from both countries, especially those living on the peripheries of the orders, have relatives on opposite sides of the border and need to attend family gatherings without having to do so. Undergoing the grueling exercise of crossing borders.
“So, when these relatives want to visit their relatives, given the exorbitant passport fees, not to mention food prices, why do they deny them entry using an ID card? Since they have to attend family events such as weddings, parties and funerals, why do you say they should be denied entry to border posts using their ID cards? Asked.
President Masisi said he would implement the African Union and SADC documents, which he signed in relation to facilitating migration.
“I do not condone your racist attitude. When we did this with Namibia you did not object, but now because it is Zimbabwe you look at them with contempt, separate them, and adopt xenophobic tendencies.”
“You hate people, but I want to assure you, I dare you, if we were to check your phone calls, many of you have illegal phone numbers for Zimbabweans because you are using them for all kinds of duties. I want to make sure that there is legitimate access.”
“We will ensure that their complete data is collected at the border posts to create databases,” President Masisi added. We try to make them law abiding. “It’s good neighbourliness.”
Botswana and Namibia abolished passport requirements for their citizens early last year, making the two countries the first in southern Africa to implement such a system.
Zimbabwe and Botswana have enjoyed friendly bilateral relations since the pre-independence period. Which was amplified under the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa. Announce
