500 Zimbabweans seeking asylum daily in South Africa

Joshua Matabaleng, who works as a marshal at the Marabastad offices of the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria, told The Zimbabwean that more than 500 Zimbabweans were now seeking asylum daily, a sharp increase compared to previous figures.

Yes, there are more Zimbabweans who are seeking asylum now than there were before. Maybe this is because the visa requirements were relaxed. Each day, more than 500 Zimbabweans pass through theses gates, said Matabaleng.

We noticed that the figures started going up just before the World Cup and I think this is because people know that there are more opportunities because of the football. Previously, we would have about 200 Zimbabweans passing through our gates.

The United Nations Refugee Agency said last week Zimbabweans were on the top the list of people seeking asylum abroad. It said in its latest report that 158 200 Zimbabweans sought asylum last year, fleeing political and economic turmoil and uncertainties over a fragile coalition government.

By comparison, about 48 600 people from Myanmar, also known as Burma, applied for asylum. They were followed by about 39 000 Afghans, 39 200 Colombians and 37 900 Somalis.

The report also pointed out that nine out of 10 Zimbabwean asylum seekers sought refuge in neighbouring South Africa.

Nowadays, a person can spend about three days before being issued with the asylum papers and this is because of the huge volumes of people who are coming through our offices. The process takes a bit longer than usual, said Matabaleng.

However, The Zimbabwean also discovered that corruption was rife because of the high volumes of asylum seekers as some marshals working at the Home Affairs were taking bribes from desperate Zimbabweans. Asylum papers are issued free of charge but because of the three-day waiting period, some marshals can guarantee same day service for a fee which ranges from R350 to R500.