On Friday, Motsoaledi’s department made the exemptions from December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2023, much to the frustration of many South Africans who say the government is not putting South Africans first.
South African opposition party, ActionSA said it was “disappointed and concerned” after Motsoaledi announced the extension of validity of the Zimbabwean exemption permits (ZEP).
The special exemption permits, held by fewer than 200 000 people, had been set to expire by December 31, following the “grace period” set by the South African government.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs minister Fredrick Shava said the government was ready to welcome its citizens who failed to meet the requirements for a South African permit that allowed them to remain in that country, Bulawayo24 reports.
ZEP holders are expected to regularise their stay under new tougher conditions which have been largely seen as a deliberate ploy to cut the number of foreign immigrants in that country.
The effects of the termination of the ZEP
Many ZEP holders will either become undocumented migrants or have to return to Zimbabwe if they do not meet the requirements set out in the new visa categories, according to a recent online dialogue hosted by South African-based not-for-profit civil society organisation Southern African Liaison Office (Salo).
Salo says the termination would put ZEP holders in the same conditions that led them to flee in the first place.
“The proposed termination of the permits has stoked the xenophobia and Afrophobia that South Africa has been experiencing since the early 1990s. This is seen in the recent rise of populist narratives used by movements such as Operation Dudula and Put South Africa First4.”
The organisation says migrants are being used as a scapegoat for the government’s failures. The rise in unemployment, the lack of service delivery, and general disillusionment with the formal political space have generated animosity among the poor and working class, resulting in violence against black African migrants.
“There is a lack of action by the authorities of the country to address these violent xenophobic and Afrophobic acts.”
Permit holders have been in South Africa for several years, some for more than 11 years, and have put down roots in the country. They have had children, own properties, have mortgages and have contributed towards policies,.
On March 15, 2022, Salo, in partnership with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, hosted a webinar on the ZEP and xenophobia.
Speakers included Dudzai Million (ZEP solidarity), Dr Tara Polzer Ngwato (Social Surveys Africa), Bishop Paul Verryn (Methodist Church), Fatima Chohan (Deputy Chair, Human Rights Commission and Former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs), Rebone Tau (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation), Advocate Gabriel Shumba (Human Rights Lawyer and Zim Exiles Forum), and Sharon Ekabaram (Lawyers for Human Rights).
The webinar aimed to address social and economic issues, human rights violations and sanctions that are faced by Zimbabwe as it heads toward the 2023 elections.
It highlighted the growing concerns around the proposed date of the cancellation of the ZEP and how it would affect the lives of many people.
It also touched on the rise of xenophobia and populist narratives that are being spread by the Operation Dudula and Put South Africa First movements.
IOL