JOHANNESBURG The South African branch of the smaller MDC, led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, is negotiating with South Africas Department of Home Affairs, in a bid to secure amnesty for Zimbabweans using fraudulently acquired South African documents. Most Zimbabweans who have lived in the neighbouring country for more than five years, use South African national registration documents and passports, which were fraudulently obtained.
In December last year, South African Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, launched a crackdown which has affected many such Zimbabweans, especially those using the Beitbridge border post.
Negotiations begin
The ongoing operation has seen thousands of South African passports being confiscated and cancelled, while their holders have been given about two weeks to produce their birth certificates and identity documents of their parents, in order to apply for new ones.
However, sources within the Home Affairs Department and an official from MDC-M this week told The Zimbabwean that the two camps have since begun negotiations.
The first meeting was reportedly held in South Africas capital city of Pretoria on Sunday, January 10 with a follow-up meeting there last Sunday.
The MDC was represented at the meeting by its South African Chairman, Jabulani Mkhwananzi, Spokesman Khumbulani Khumalo and Secretary Ngqabutho Dube, while the Home Affair Department was represented by three unnamed officials.
The MDC is the one that approached the department to raise its concerns last week, said a source within the Home Affairs Department Friday.
They raised a number of factors that contributed to this rampant use of the South African documents by Zimbabweans, adding that the Zimbabweans usually have no choice, but to resort to the fraudulent activities due to stiff laws here.
South Africa initially refused to grant Zimbabweans asylum permits, arguing that Zimbabwe was not at war, while intensifying raids on Zimbabwean nationals that had fled both political persecution by Mugabe and his supporters and an economic meltdown that had created a serious humanitarian crisis in their home country.
As a result, the Zimbabweans, most of whom did not have travel documents, ended up buying South African documents. Those that had passports and Emergency Travel Documents also did not use them as they could not afford the South African visa, which could be accessed through payment of R2 000.
MDC optimistic
Dube confirmed the negotiations this week, adding that his party was optimistic of a breakthrough.
We explained the reasons behind this issue because some of these Zimbabweans have contributed a lot to the South African economy and have also invested a lot here, said Dube.
If this is taken away from them, it means that they have lived their lives in vein and that is what we are trying to address and I am happy that the South African government is listening and working well with us in this regard.
Dube said that their suggested way forward was for the South African government to declare amnesty on those Zimbabweans, who should be granted new documents indicating their true places of origin, but be allowed to live in South Africa as that countrys citizens and to access all the benefits they have been accessing, as most have been in the neighbouring country for more than five years.
We are therefore, requesting that they declare yet another amnesty and call on those Zimbabweans that are in possession of these illegally acquired documents to come forward and trade them for those indicating their proper origins.
The main thrust of this operation is to stop the rot in the Home Affairs Department and whatever amnesty is to be granted here must help us fight corruption once and for all, said an official who also confirmed the ongoing negotiations with the MDC.
Post published in: Politics