At least 12,860 people have made use of their national identity documents to travel between Namibia and Botswana since the two countries scrapped the use of passports early this year, officials say.
In February this year, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Agreement to permit the use of national identity cards from each country as travel documents to cross their borders for stays up to 90 days.
The move is expected to bring relief to residents of both countries, particularly those living near the border and who depend on each other for their daily economic and cultural needs.
“To date, 6,480 people have used identity documents to depart from Botswana and 6,380 have used identity documents to depart from Namibia,” reports the Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat.
This development is the result of an initiative by the two Heads of State, Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana, and Hage Geingob, President of Namibia, dating back to 2019.
“It is a clear demonstration of their unwavering commitment to implementing a uniquely progressive aspect of the strategy of bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The Agreement will thus serve to eliminate barriers to the free movement of people, goods and services, thereby strengthening trade between the two countries,” Botswana’s Permanent Secretary Jimmy Opelo said during the launch of the initiative.
Namibia and Botswana also launched the Trans-Kalahari-Mamuno border post as a 24-hour operator in April 2023. The border post, situated in Namibia’s Omaheke Region, is a crucial link between the port of Walvis Bay and Botswana’s capital, Gaborone.
