Botswana resume recruitment of Zimbabwe teachers

THE engagement of Zimbabwean teaching professionals by the Botswana government has resumed, amid fears of ill-treatment of Zimbabwean professionals by the neighbouring country.

Botswana, currently facing a shortage of qualified trainers in the fields of performing arts, jewellery design, multimedia design, electronics, waste water engineering and heavy plant air conditioning, has in the past turned to Zimbabwe for professional personnel.

The Zimbabwean government has already signed a bilateral agreement with Botswana in the skills exchange programme.

The Higher and Tertiary Education ministry recently invited applicants to take up teaching posts in Botswana's vocational and technical institutions by the end of this month.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions Regional chairperson Reason Ngwenya fear the Zimbabwean professionals may get a raw deal.

"What Botswana has done to our professionals in the past is very unfair and we put the blame on our government which has not articulated our concerns to our neighbour," he said.

"Botswana has in the past ill-treated our professionals, taking advantage of our poor economy and we find this unjust in the Sadc region."

He also urged the Zimbabwean government to work hard to protect the rights of Zimbabwean professionals in the neighbouring country, adding it was important for professionals to seek help from independent workers' unions in those respective countries.

Botswana has in the past intensified efforts to deport Zimbabweans from its territory amid reports of reluctance to renew contracts of Zimbabweans lawfully employed in that country.