IOM handed over a fully equipped Migration Management National Training Centre to the Government of Botswana on Tuesday the 23rd of October 2012. Botswana Minister of Labour and Home Affairs Edwin Jenamiso Batshu and IOM Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Bernardo Mariano attended the formal handover ceremony.

The National Training Centre which is based at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs Headquarters was established under the project: “Capacity Building for Migration Management in Botswana” funded by IOM Development Fund whose main objective was to enhance the capacity of Botswana’s Immigration service to better manage migration and improve border efficiency.

This training facility will help the Government of Botswana to continue capacity building programmes for immigration officials on a regular basis using the 16 trainers trained through the programme. The facility is equipped with appropriate migration management training material, 17 computers, a smart board, a printer, tools for passport verification procedures, UV lamps and magnifiers.

“This training facility and resources will help us enhance internal capacity building on migration management by institutionalizing and regularizing induction trainings. As the ministry we remain committed to continue strengthening our partnership with IOM to ensure sustainability of our programmes,” says Honorable Edwin Jenamiso Batshu, Botswana Minister of Labour and Home Affairs.

IOM also conducted trainings for Botswana immigration and law enforcement officers aimed at enhancing their capacity and efficiency on migration management.

Experts from IOM’s African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) in Tanzania and IOM’s Regional Office in South Africa trained 16 trainers who further trained about 137 immigration and law enforcement officials from Headquarters and border posts across the country.

According to the US State Department’s 2012 Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Report, Botswana is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. The training also sensitized immigration and law enforcement officials on identifying suspected cases of Trafficking in Persons.

“It is not stamp and go anymore, we now realize that borders need to be handled professionally, and that border requirements and processes are important,” says one of the trainees interviewed by the IOM Project Evaluation team.

“IOM commends the Government of Botswana for its efforts to institutionalize capacity building on migration management capacity for front line staff. We will continue to provide the government with technical assistance on migration management when requested and support the development of migration and legislative policy that will address to migration issues in the country,”  says Bernardo Mariano, Regional Director for IOM in East and Southern Africa.

Botswana became an IOM member state in November 2010 and continues to experience relatively high levels of immigration predominantly skilled professionals from across Africa as well as refugees and asylum seekers from the region.

IOM commits to provide the government of Botswana with technical support to look into the development of migration policies that will ensure effective management of migration in the country.  There is growing recognition that the effective management of migration can be achieved through a comprehensive, coherent and balanced approach which benefits both migrants and host countries.