GOVERNMENT ENSURES COUNTRY IS SECURE Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu says government is committed to security to ensure the country does not become a safe haven for criminals. Speaking during the regional immigrants selection boards and the citizenship committee meeting in Palapye recently, Mr Batshu said one of the factors considered when applying for either citizenship or work and residence permit was that of security. He urged regional committees to assess with utmost care the nature of people applying for admission into the country. “We should continue to do all in our might to protect this nation. Even in cases where one has invested heavily but does not meet security clearance, we will go on and forego the investment, which could be a bait or smoke screen behind which a lot could happen,” he said. Minister Batshu said while the boards and the committee continued to give the relevant documents to the right people, they protected the country by preventing those whose motives are suspect or their value to the economy is not sufficient to grant them stay in the country.“I must indicate that as a small country and a small economy, if we are not meticulous in our immigration selection processes, we run the risk of being swallowed up by the immigrants,” he said. He said the limited resources that the country had might be outnumbered, leaving the citizens having nowhere to go and nothing to enjoy because they have no other country except Botswana. Mr Batshu said his ministry cherishes the work undertaken by both the Citizenship Committee and the Regional Immigrants Selection Boards.He said through their diligence and thorough scrutiny of applications, the country had been able to attract Foreign Direct Investment, weeded out undesirable immigrants as well as identify those non-citizens who did not meet the requirements of being issued with citizenship and work and residence permits. However, Mr Batshu said his ministry has received complaints from some people about the perceived delays and rejection of work and residence permit applications. Some of the complaints, he said were that employees were discouraging investment or denying employers skills to carry out their businesses efficiently and effectively.He said there were those who hold the view that the system was too lenient and continued to flood the market with skills that were locally available. The minister said, “what is important under the circumstances is to be inspired to do what is right thus should be guided by the national priorities, economic realities and imperatives that are confronting.” He assured Batswana that it was neither within the interest of government, nor members of the Immigrants Selection Boards to give jobs that should be occupied by Batswana to non-citizens. Minister Batshu said it was not important to unduly deny employers their required skills to operate their businesses. (BOPA)
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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