24 Feb 2022

Livestock rustling across the Botswana-Zimbabwe border has been identified as a troubling issue needing urgent attention.

 Addressing the Botswana-Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission (BNC) ministerial session yesterday, international affairs and cooperation minister Dr Lemogang Kwape said rustling had escalated over the years. 

 What started off as petty stock theft had now grown into organised crime which called for concerted efforts by both Zimbabwe and Botswana to end it, he said. 

 The minister said the issue had far reaching implications, not only on livelihoods of the affected communities but also on the two countries’ socioeconomic development. 

Dr Kwape, who is the ministerial session chair, said elimination of trans-border livestock rustling was an issue that the two countries had to cooperate in.

He informed his audience that Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Botswana, Mr Henry Mukonoweshuro visited affected communities in Botswana last December to appreciate the magnitude of the problem. 

  Warm relations between the two countries made cooperation in various areas possible, he said adding that the BNC afforded them an opportunity to solidify diplomatic, legal, health, transport and water resources collaboration.

Meanwhile,  the session’s co-chair, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Mr Frederick Shava said relations between the two states were on an "upward trajectory," which he attributed to their heads of state’s commitment.

He recalled that while  the raging COVID-19 pandemic prevented Zimbabwe from hosting the third BNC session last year, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was still able to pay the country a working visit which furthered cooperation in areas such as education. 

Ambassador Shava said a high level delegation of senior government officials from both states met in December to review progress on agreements and memoranda of understanding from previous BNC meetings. 

“An important area of collaboration was on water cooperation,” he said.

Mr Shava said since both countries were becoming more water scarce owing to climate change, there was need to improve utilisation of shared water resources such as the Zambezi watercourse. 

On health, he said Botswana and Zimbabwe would do well to work together in strengthening their health systems and developing a pharmaceutical industry. 

Mr Shava called for speedy construction of a one-stop border facility at the Ramokgwebana Border Post. 

The session was attended by ministers from both countries covering portfolios including mineral resources, defence, land management, agriculture, transport as well as conservation and tourism. ends