By Staff Reporter
HARARE – Epworth North legislator Zivai Mhetu on Tuesday urged the government to adopt policies that would allow Zimbabweans to travel more easily across regional borders, citing recent moves by Namibia and Zambia to permit entry using only national identity cards.
Mhetu raised the issue during a question-and-answer session in Parliament, asking whether Harare intends to pursue similar agreements with neighbouring countries such as Botswana, South Africa, Malawi and Mozambique.
“Schengen countries in Europe have boosted trade and mobility through the introduction of the Schengen visa, enabling citizens to travel freely within member states using just ID cards.
Closer to home, Namibia and Zambia have recently implemented a similar system, removing the need for passports when travelling between their countries,”* said Mhetu.
Responding on behalf of the government, lands minister Anxious Masuka said President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made regional integration a key priority during his tenure as chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
“The Government policy, and in particular our President … was to enhance regional integration, be it industrialisation, agriculture and travel of people,” Masuka said.
He noted ongoing negotiations with Botswana and highlighted the UniVisa arrangement already in place for the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, which covers parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Angola.
Masuka added that the administration hopes African citizens will eventually be able to travel freely across all 54 countries on the continent, describing current talks as “a start to gather momentum” toward that goal.
Mhetu pressed further, asking whether the government had a timeline for implementing such agreements with Zimbabwe’s neighbours.
Masuka did not provide specific dates.
Currently, cumbersome travel restrictions in the SADC region have been cited as a barrier to economic growth, increasing costs for cross-border traders and complicating labour mobility.
Small-scale traders—who form a significant portion of Zimbabwe’s informal economy—often face delays at border posts and high passport costs, undermining their competitiveness.
Economists argue that easing movement within the region, as Namibia and Zambia have done, would boost intra-SADC trade, enhance regional supply chains and promote the free flow of goods, services and skills.
