01 Nov 2023

Delegates at the ongoing 8^th Pan African Migration Forum (PAFOM-8) have been urged to draw lessons from Botswana to ensure free and safe movements of people, goods and services.

Botswana has established initiatives which other member states could benchmark on to ensure safe movement of goods and people.

Minister of Labour of Labour and Home Affairs Ms Annah Mokgethi said this during the conference themed Bolstering Free Movement and Trade Nexus in African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): optimizing benefits of migration, labour migration for development which ends today focused on migration and trade.

Ms Mokgethi said prior to the free movement protocol, various regional economic communities and other organisations had been created with the aim of removing barriers to trade and free movement of goods, capital, people and had introduced rules for movement of nationals between their member states.

“Governments of Botswana and Zambia have established the Kazungula one stop border post where there is single processing of both people and goods by the two countries. Botswana, South Africa and Zambia have adopted the use of border passes to facilitate free movement of communities that live along their common borders,” she said.

Ms Mokgethi said Botswana together with Namibia had established 24 hour operations at Mamuno border post and introduced the use of national identity cards to cross the borders between the two countries.

She said it was evident that the criticality of investing on issues of migration, labour and trade as well as legal identity could not be over emphasised.

Therefore, she said the objectives of the conference included promoting an improved understanding of the nexus between migration labour migration, free movement and trade by unpacking socioeconomic benefits and positive multiplier effects.

She said it was also to advance dialogue to deconstruct barriers towards advancement of free movement of people in Africa.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs Mr Jimmy Opelo said the conference highlighted the AU’s vision which permeated all Agenda 2063 aspirations, which were integration, free movement and trade which had never been pronounced in Africa’s development policy frameworks.

“Africa is now committed to agree that without movement there will be less or no trade at all. It is therefore befitting to continue the conversation to achieve the intended objectives, share experience and map the way forward,” he said.

Mr Opelo said as Africa the fundamental goal was fresh ideas and conversations such as the 8^th PAFOM summit which would take the ambition to another productive level.

Convening of the conference had been seen as contributing to the actualisation of the 2023 African Union theme of Acceleration of the AfCFTA implementation as adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in February this year.

The conference attracted over 300 experts from across the continent. ENDS