Botswana's President Duma Boko: I want to legalise undocumented Zimbabweans

The new president tells the BBC thousands of illegal Zimbabweans should be given temporary permits.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionFull resultsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersBotswana to legalise undocumented Zimbabweans - presidentReutersDuma Boko, who made history last week after his party won the election, said Batswana could also learn skills from Zimbabweans Botswana’s new president has told the BBC that he wants undocumented Zimbabweans to be legalised by granting them temporary work and residence permits.

"They do jobs that would otherwise not get done," Duma Boko told the BBC Africa Daily podcast before his historic inauguration on Friday.

Botswana hosts the world’s second-largest community of Zimbabweans fleeing their country’s economic woes - and they are often resented, with deportations taking place daily.

The decision is not likely to be popular in the diamond-rich southern African nation, but Boko, 54, who has just unseated the ruling party that was in power for 58 years, said it was part of his plans to revive the economy.

President Boko said it was a challenge when thousands of Zimbabweans entered Botswana through the long and porous border between the two countries.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v3l3zr63vo

---