EU bank rolls €3.2m for border training

Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs is rolling out training programmes across the country to speed up the implementation of the integrated border management (IBM) programme.

The European Union is funding the initiative at a cost of 3, 2 million Euros and it will run for four years. The support is coming through the EU’s 11th European Development Fund. IOM national project officer Mrs Memory Mwale said during an on-going IBM training in Beitbridge that the new programme sought to strengthen public institutions’ capacity on matters around migrant governance.

“The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the establishment of a migration governance framework (policy, institutional and legislative) in Zimbabwe.

“We are looking at frame work, which supports state actors to manage migration in dialogue with non-state actors and in a migrant-centred, gender-sensitive, rights upfront-based and development-oriented manner,” she said.

Mrs Mwale said they came up with the programme after they realized that there was a gap on issues of migration governance in Zimbabwe.

She said it was important to strengthen institutional capacity and to adopt a coherent and gender-sensitive policy and legislative framework for a comprehensive approach to migration issues in the country.

“So far we have rolled out a capacity building workshop on integrated border management for over 140 people including senior officials from ministries and departments with a mandate in border management.

“This has helped in increasing their capacity to mainstream and operationalise IBM concepts in migration management through a comprehensive migration and integrated border management model,” said Mrs Mwale.

The programme is set to enhance participation and contribution of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora on national development initiatives. It will also see migration laws being reviewed and aligned to the constitution and regional protocols among other international migration laws.