Home Affairs clarifies status of special permits for Zimbabweans
SOUTH AFRICA- Home Affairs says it will allow Zimbabweans, who were granted special permits, to re-apply subsequent to the December expiry date.
Home Affairs has urged Zimbabweans not to worry about their special permits that will expire in December, stating that they will soon announce modalities of processing the expiring work permits.
The special dispensation from 2009 was to document those who were in South Africa illegally as a result of the political and socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe.
Upon expiry, permit holders will be expected to re-apply for new permits.
“The Minister of Home Affairs will in due course provide more clarity on the process to be followed and the date of commencement,” the department said in a statement.
According to the department “It is not South Africa’s intention to reverse the benefits of the dispensation.”
Some Zimbabweans on the other hand, are on a ledge with their future in the country looking “bleak.”
“At this point, I think anything is possible; they might just kick us all out, and we will suffer if that happens,” said Tapiwa Munetsi a Zimbabwean citizen residing in Blackheath.
The newly appointed Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba (previously deputy minister), was very vocal against xenophobia, actively advocating for inclusion of all Africans. He is expected by others to ensure that Zimbabweans continue to be treated with dignity in the country.
“I am happy that Gigaba is minister and I hope he will be able to make sure that we renew our permits and continue to work in the country. ”If they do not do that, more people will be coming into the country illegally again, and they will not know who is here,which will create more opportunities for crime,” said Xolani Dube, a Zimbabwean student at the University of Johannesburg.
The special dispensation allowed about 250 000 Zimbabwean nationals to be regularised through South Africa’s permitting regime.
“It [ the dispensation] enhanced national security and the management of migration and helped to mitigate widespread abuse of Zimbabweans illegally in the country, by corrupt employers and officials,” the department concluded in a statement.
