BY TAPFUMANEI MUCHABAIWA ZIMBABWE Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders have been urged to begin making preparations to leave South Africa in December this year as announced by the South African government.
Close to 180 000 Zimbabweans who live and work in South Africa risk losing their jobs if they do not migrate to other permit dispensations after the South African government stuck to its guns over the ZEPs.
In 2015, the South African and Zimbabwean governments agreed to have Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa accorded the ZEPs.
The permit holders whose permits expired in December 2021 were granted one-year grace period, which expires in December 2022 after which they are expected to migrate to other permits or visas.
In November 2021, South Africa Cabinet decided to end special permits that allow close to 180 000 Zimbabweans to live and work in that country.
The ZEPs were granted to Zimbabweans who moved to South Africa before 2009.
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The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reports that the one-year grace period expires at the end of this year.
“The SA government says that in December all people under the permit, who fail to get other permits, must leave the country,” an SABC report read.
Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs ministry spokesperson Livit Mugejo yesterday told NewsDay that the ministry’s response is what the Foreign Affairs minister Frederick Shava said last week that all unsuccessful ZEP applicants would be welcomed back home.
“As for us in Zimbabwe, these are our nationals, those who fail to meet the ZEP requirements by South Africa are welcome back home. We will be working on modalities and logistics to ensure that they will not distort the normal traffic between Zimbabwe and South Africa. We will receive them and assist them to get to their desired destination,” Shava said last week.
National Employers’ Association of South Africa chief executive, Gerhard Papenfus is quoted by SABC describing the decision by the SA government to deport Zimbabweans as unfortunate.
“It’s very unfortunate because these are very valuable employees in the hospital sector, so business is very unhappy with this arrangement. They work very hard and are very reliable,” Papenfus said.
“There are different kinds of permits, visas and just to make sure that your employees fall under this dispensation then you need to be prepared to terminate those employees services at the end of the year which is in our view very wrong.”
Recently, the head of Public Diplomacy at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation, Clayson Monyela, accused Zimbabwean nationals of committing shocking crimes in the neighbouring country.
African National Congress spokesperson Pule Mabe also pulled a shocker a few weeks ago after he announced that South Africa was not a playground, adding that all undocumented foreigners living in SA were not guaranteed stay anymore.
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