Zimbabwean money flows to Botswana

mall- and medium-scale business, such as bus and truck operators, funeral parlours, vehicle repair shops and sawmills, have mushroomed in the northern city of Francistown and the satellite towns of Tati and Tonota to the south of it, all near Botswana’s border with Zimbabwe.
The steady influx of Zimbabweans, reportedly up to 125,000 a month since their country launched its chaotic fast-track land reform programme in 2000, has created tension between the two countries, with Botswana blaming the immigrants for increased crime. Botswana flogs people who cross its borders illegally, which has not helped defuse the situation, despite years of talks between the two governments.
Botswana has clarified that it does not single out Zimbabweans, as corporal punishment is legal and applied to anyone breaking rules. However, in 2004 it pointed out that 26,214 Zimbabweans were involved in criminal activities in Botswana. “There is a clear correlation between the increases in the rise of crime in Botswana with the presence of illegal immigrants, most of who are from Zimbabwe,” the government said in a statement.
Construction companies have also taken advantage of Botswana’s business-friendly climate. “The death of the construction industry [in Zimbabwe] almost killed us by extension, but when we looked across the border we saw the sector growing and came here to set up as suppliers. I can safely say what we were doing in Zimbabwe now looks like child play, because we are now making very good business,” said one manager.
The going has been so good that the Forestry Company of Zimbabwe-Botswana (FCZ-Botswana), an offshoot of the Forestry Commission, the parastatal charged with managing state forests and wood products in Zimbabwe, has also relocated.
Although most Zimbabwean professionals complain of growing xenophobia, businessmen appear unaffected. However, Zimbabweans working in Francistown told IRIN about a growing tendency towards xenophobia by the local population. Besides competition for jobs, the latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), linked to Zimbabwe, has aggravated the situation. – IRIN