The process will reach its conclusion at the of the month, giving Zimbabwean nationals who have applied for permits to remain in South Africa three weeks to finalise their paperwork.
More than 275 000 applications were sent in by Zimbabweans hoping to regularise their stay in South Africa. The South African department of Home Affairs has since insisted it will meet its July deadline, despite announcing late last month that it had only issued just over 133 000 permits.
Langton Miriyoga from the Cape Town based refugee rights group PASSOP, told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that people are still in the process of collecting their documents. He explained that many people, yet to receive their paperwork, are afraid that their permits won’t be issued in time.
“People are starting to panic and they are very worried. The big question now is will the department meet its deadline as it has promised,” Miriyoga said.
The fears among the Zim community have been compounded by South Africa’s intentions to resume deporting undocumented Zimbabweans when the ZDP process is complete. The Head of the process last month indicated that there will be a ‘grace period’ when the project ends and before deportations resume. But it’s not yet clear how long this period will last for.
More than a million Zimbabweans now face deportation, with rough estimates putting the number of Zim nationals in South Africa at around two million. South African officials have yet to detail how they will conduct the deportations, amid fears that there will be a return to the chaotic mass forced removals that saw thousands of people rounded up, unlawfully detained, and forced back to Zimbabwe before 2009.
The situation is already looking bleak, with some Zim nationals facing arrest and detention, regardless of their documentation status. The South African police are rumoured to have started a ‘clean up’ exercise as a precursor to the resumption of deportations, and there are growing reports of police harassment and intimidation of Zim nationals.
PASSOP’s Miriyoga explained that for several months Zim nationals have been complaining about unfair treatment by South African companies, banks and hospitals, while their documentation applications have been pending.
“We’ve been receiving a growing number of complaints that people are being dismissed from their jobs, and that they are being turned away from hospitals and that some Zimbabweans have been denied the chance to register for their studies,” Miriyoga said.
He added: “We’ve appealed for patience from all South African companies and institutions while this documentation process winds to an end, because these Zimbabweans are still entitled to fair treatment, medical care and education.”
Post published in: Zimbabwe News