27 Jul 2026

Parliament has adopted the Botswana National Migration Policy, which aims to establish legal frameworks for managing the movement of people across borders.

The policy shifts the country toward supporting the national security and economic needs with humanitarian responsibilities, effectively deciding who can enter, work and settle in the country.

Presenting the policy before Parliament on Thursday, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General Pius Mokgware stated that the purpose of the policy was to provide a comprehensive framework to manage labour migration, regulate border control, uphold human rights, facilitate skills transfer and prevent different arms of government from working at cross purpose.

The policy, he said was aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 16.7, which promoted orderly, safe and regular responsible migration and also aligned to African Union Agenda, which promoted safe, orderly and regular human mobility.

Maj. Gen. Mokgware said the agenda strives to achieve labour mobility, border management and strong social protections for migrants across the continent.

He further noted that the policy also was in line with Objective No. 1 of the Global Compact for Migration that focused on data collection and evidence based policies.

Maj Gen Mokgware said it committed member states to collect, analyse and utilise accurate, disaggregated data to serve as the factual foundation for migration related policies.

The policy, he said promoted border control management to facilitate lawful trade and travel as well as tourism, noting that they would be using integrated management systems to deter illicit activity while ensuring the seamless, expedited movement of legitimate travellers.

“This policy will help promote safe, orderly and regular migration by streamlining travel documentation and modernising entry systems to ease business and tourism,” he said.

He noted that a well-structured policy would directly address issues of child trafficking by closing legal gaps and enforcing strict cross-border protection.

Maj. Gen. Mokgware highlighted that human trafficking was a serious concern as minors were recruited and overwhelmingly exploited through forced labour and other illicit activities, hence they believed that the policy was the best tool to disrupt trafficking operations.

In addition, he said the policy aimed to promote labour migration, citing that it would attract vital skills to fill crucial skill gap and investments needed for economic growth.

In other countries, he said migration was part of the Gross Domestic Product as it significantly drove growth through innovation among others.

 “We are referring to migrants with legal documents who can add value to national developments and economic growth. In many countries, migrants have helped transform developing economies into high income capital,” he added.

 The minister cited the United States of America, saying it was built by waves of immigrants resulting in a highly developed country, noting that its economy had been reliant on continuous immigration and foreign labour.

The policy, he said would also support international cooperation, stating that no single country could manage migration alone and as such coordinated governance promotes safer, orderly movement.

Botswana, he said, had agreements with SADC and United Nations, hence they aligned policies with the international frameworks to manage both regular and irregular migration.

Maj. Gen. Mokgware said the policy also looked at internal migration in which people within the country’s border moved in search of economic opportunities and better services.

 He told Parliament that the policy would also benefit Batswana as it emphasised that people should access services in their place of origin.  The policy, he said would expand public services to restrict movement. ENDS