16 Dec 2024

If carefully managed, migration can contribute to the country's national development agenda, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General (Retired) Pius Mokgware has said.

Speaking at a dinner to officially welcome the Director General of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Ms Amy Pope, Maj. Gen. Mokgware said government pledged to deliver on promises to Batswana, among them job and economic prospects, aligned with the opportunities that migration presented.

“Migration offers a unique opportunity to address labour market needs and create employment opportunities. By fostering partnerships with the private sector, we can harness migration to bridge skills gaps, empower youth through circular migration, leverage on diaspora contributions and support entrepreneurship and informal trade,” Maj. Gen. Mokgware said.

He added that migration could address critical shortage in sectors such as health, mining, and technology, boost productivity and innovation, adding that ethical migration would ensure that Batswana benefitted from skills transfer locally and employment opportunities abroad.

“The Botswana diaspora is an untapped resource for job creation and economic growth. The investments, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurial contributions can support economic diversification and foster innovation,” the minister said.

He further noted that migration could support entrepreneurship and informal cross-border trade, if such sectors were recognised and formalised to create sustainable livelihoods and address barriers to growth.

For her part, Ms Pope said she was pleased to be on her first ever visit to Botswana, a country she said had positively contributed to international migration by hosting foreign nationals and adhering to international statutes that covered migration. She expressed delight at how Botswana's recent general elections led to a peaceful and matured exchange of power from the then governing party to the opposition, something she said made the country stand out to the international community.

Established in 1951 and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the IOM is a UN agency that exists to promote humane and orderly migration for the benefit of migrants and the society at large. Ends