‘Help bring us home’ – Zimbabwean permit holders say life in SA has become intolerable

The Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Holders Association (Zepha) has asked the Zimbabwean government for help in expediting an urgent programme of voluntary return in light of the increasingly intolerable conditions for many of its members living in SA.

“Zimbabweans are now forced to litigate when they go to the hospital, schools, universities, travel on the roads, and at the work place,” says a memo sent by Zepha to the Zimbabwean ambassador to SA.

Zepha adds that it has already launched a repatriation programme, but would like the Zimbabwean government’s help in assisting with the relocation of thousands of ZEP holders in finding accommodation and business opportunities, and to assist in lowering regulatory barriers to smooth their return.

“Many South Africans believe that Zimbabweans are hapless Zanu-PF victims useful only for their highly sought-after cheap, efficient, and trustworthy labour,” reads the memo.

“Their assistance for Zimbabwean staff extends only to prolonging exploitation, but not to provide Zimbabweans with the rights required to live full and dignified lives. In my view, they have no interest in the stability of Zimbabweans in South Africa, and the generations that will follow.”

The majority black population in South Africa blames Zimbabweans for taking jobs, homes, medical services and economic opportunities, it says, adding that vigilant groups have been organised to harm, rob and even kill Zimbabweans, yet there has been no prosecution of the perpetrators.

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‘Physically targeted’

Xenophobia has been mainstreamed by political parties such as the Patriotic Alliance, MK Party and ActionSA, it adds, while ‘quasi-militias’ operating as Operation Dudula and Put South Africa First have physically targeted foreigners, but more specifically Zimbabweans.

These attacks appear orchestrated and intensify during elections and national crises such as Covid and load shedding, it says.

The white minority blames Zanu-PF for ruining the Zimbabwean economy and forcing its citizens to flee to SA to avoid poverty, political persecution and maladministration, it adds.

“The mainstream media, which they control, have successfully sold the South African population the idea that Zimbabwe is a failed state, which will never recover without them, and that it stands as an example of what could happen to South Africa if their interests are not protected,” the memo adds.

The abuse of Zimbabweans in South Africa has caused “significant psychological and emotional harm to all Zimbabweans in South Africa”.

“It is a matter that, in the view of many medical doctors and academics, cannot continue.”

The memo also says Zimbabwean children in SA are being raised and conditioned to believe that they are second-class citizens. This is because their parents are humiliated, degraded, mistreated, and publicly scorned by what appears to be state-sponsored anti-Zimbabwe rhetoric.

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Discrimination

The memo goes on to detail specific instances of discrimination that it claims have been happening, including:

• Traffic authorities have flatly refused to renew driving licences of several Zepha members and then set up roadblocks searching for foreigners without licences;
• Police raids have increased in communities where Zimbabweans are concentrated;
• ZEP holders’ bank accounts have been frozen, or put on hold, by banks because their ZEP permits were deemed invalid;
• SA law enforcement has been stepped up at companies employing Zimbabweans, and this campaign of harassment has resulted in many employers terminating the employment of Zimbabwean workers;
• Dismissed Zimbabwean workers have had their Unemployment Insurance Fund and pension fund payments withheld;
• Children of ZEP permit holders have been prevented from writing exams because they lack study visas; and
• There are numerous recorded instances of Zimbabweans, including pregnant women, being denied treatment at SA hospitals.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is accused of frustrating the rights of ZEP holders to apply for permanent residence, as allowed under the Immigration Act, even though they have lived, worked and paid taxes in SA for decades.

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The DHA’s decision to terminate the ZEP programme was found to be unlawful and unconstitutional in 2023 by the Gauteng High Court, which ordered the government to conduct public participation with the ZEP community.

The ZEP programme was then extended to the end of 2025, a deadline many of those applying for permanent residence are unlikely to meet, argues Zepha.

ZEP holders are required to make online appointments with the visa processing company VFS, but many have received no appointment after four or more months of waiting.

This means their applications will not be processed before the expiry of the programme at the end of the year.

“Nobody can reach their full potential in a toxic environment that is the reality for Zimbabweans in South Africa,” concludes the Zepha appeal to the Zimbabwean ambassador.

“History has taught us that the return of significant numbers of the diaspora back to their country of origin, in various jurisdictions at various times, has led to economic development, transfer of skills, diversity of industry, and national pride.”

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.