JOHANNESBURG Zimbabwean political parties and civil rights groups here have formed a joint forum to assist Zimbabwean immigrants wishing to obtain permits to stay in South Africa. The South African government last month said it would by December 31 resume deporting undocumented Zimbabweans, ending an 18-month moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants from its struggling northern neighbour.
But Pretoria said Zimbabweans already working, engaged in business or studying in South Africa will be issued with relevant permits on condition they produce valid documents to show they are citizens of Zimbabwe before expiry of the deadline.
Zimbabweans holding fake South African documents will not be arrested if they surrender these documents within the amnesty period.
However there are concerns that the process of documenting Zimbabweans in Johannesburg and other centres is going at a snails pace, with some people being forced to sleep in queues in order to get served the next day.
The Zimbabwean organisations that last Wednesday met South African home affairs officials to discuss the problems faced by immigrants in obtaining permits, said their forum will work to pressure authorities to quicken the processing of applications for permits and other required documentation.
The forum said it will also pressure the Zimbabwean embassy and consulate officials to speed up applications for documents such as passports without which immigrants cannot acquire South African permits.
The joint forum will first discuss some of the key issues that are of concern to us, including those of property owned by Zimbabweans who have been using South African documents, the loans they got from local banks and their business investments, said Ngqabutho Dube an official from the MDC-M party that is one of the political parties represented in the forum.
South Africa s Home Affairs and the Zimbabwe embassy here are also represented on the forum.
The joint forum will discuss and make proposals to the Ministerial Task Team. In our view, this is work in progress – we seem to agree with Home Affairs that Zimbabweans should not lose their investments in South Africa, Dube said.
Meanwhile South African home affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni said the department could open more application centres to ensure the tens of thousands of Zimbabweans wishing to apply for permits are able to do so before expiry of the December 31 deadline.
He said: If need be, we might be forced to increase the number of centres from the current 46 and the workforce. Our wish is to see the process through before the set deadline and we will do everything in our ability to ensure that happens without causing unnecessary inconveniences to those seeking such assistance.
Home Affairs centres in Johannesburg and other cities are clogged with desperate Zimbabweans crying out for service, but only a handful of people can ever hope to get help per day with the rest told to go away and return the next day for more waiting.
There are growing fears that the home affairs department will not be able to process all applications before expiry of the deadline, leaving thousands of imigrnats facing deportation back to Zimbabwe.
Human and refugee rights groups have criticised the move to resume deportations saying it will spark a witch-hunt against Zimbabweans by state immigration officials and that it could also fuel xenophobia against foreigners.
Post published in: Zimbabwe News