The Zambezi Region Governor Lawrence Sampofu has said their communities now feel a bit secured along the common borders following the deployment of their troops, but are still living in fear of Botswana Defence Force (BDF) harassments and threats.
Sampofu said this during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the Chobe District Council and Zambezi Regional Council that was held in Kasane this week. The two Councils have signed MOU on twinning in the fields of local economic development and waste management, shared riverine, resources, culture and sports. The two days event was held in Katima Mulilo.
According to Sampofu, the event marked celebration of peace, coexistence, mutual understanding and opening up a new page of working together with their sister country, Botswana. He said that the residents of Zambezi Region living along the Chobe and Kwando rivers have been living in fear because of the killings, harassment and cross-border violations by the Botswana Defence Force members by then.
“Even some of the Traditional and Community leaders had gone through similar harassments whenever they were taking their cattle to the rivers or swamps. Namibia and Botswana share a 1,500-kilometer-long border with five official crossing points,” he said.
However, Sampofu has expressed that through the deployment of their troops communities living along the river will now be free to fish, get lilies, cutting grass for houses, making mats, and making brooms, reeds for court-yards and decorations and gather all types of fruits along the rivers.
He said that on 24 February 2023, Botswana and Namibia concluded a bilateral agreement on the movement of persons. Sampofu noted that this is an important regional development in a region where irregular migrants have repeatedly been criminalised and this accord will not only reduce barriers to migration but also increase trade, offering a much-needed economic boost to each country and their people. He stressed that this is a much-needed development for informal cross-border traders, especially women.
“This would hopefully facilitate their work which is crucial in alleviating poverty and food security in these countries. In the implementation of this agreement, we applaud both Botswana and Namibia who have taken into consideration the needs of traders who cross the border between the two countries on a regular basis,” he said.
Sampofu noted that the agreement has allowed citizens of the two sister states to cross the two countries’ border without passports but will obviously not do away with regular migration controls.
“All we need and pray for, is to live in a peaceful Namibia and have good neighbourlihood with our sister country, Botswana. Let this peace be forever so that our communities living along the border in particular and our countries at large live in peace, harmony and prosperity,” he said.
