Zimbabweans in SA left dangling for another six months

The latest six month extension of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) system until December 2023 announced last week merely postpones the inevitable day of reckoning for hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans living in SA.

Few are likely to qualify for alternative visas outlined on the government’s Critical Skills List.

There’s ample openings for medical personnel, geologists, scientists and engineers, but little to nothing for waiters and artisans – the occupations of a huge percentage of Zimbabweans living in SA.

There are about 178 000 ZEP holders in SA who are at risk of deportation should they fail to qualify for an alternative visa by December this year. Count family members, and we could well be looking at a number approaching 600 000 to 700 000. That’s a potential humanitarian crisis waiting to explode across the region.

Population estimate

There are reckoned to be anywhere between 1.5 and three million Zimbabweans in SA, so the ZEP system applies to a relatively small proportion of them.

What is less well understood is how the plan to terminate the ZEP system has rattled the broader Zimbabwean community.

The matter might be decided in favour of ZEP holders once the Johannesburg High Court hands down its ruling in a case brought by four different groups, all seeking to set aside government’s decision to end the ZEP system as irrational and unlawful.

The ZEP system was introduced in 2009 and extended several times to legitimise the status of Zimbabweans who had fled the country for political or economic reasons. They were initially welcomed into SA as brothers and sisters in the struggle against apartheid rule.

Xenophobia

Now they feel unwelcome, and in many cases, betrayed. Xenophobia has been allowed to flourish in sometimes subtle and insidious ways. The ZEP Holders Association (Zepha) believes Zimbabweans – not just ZEP holders – are being scapegoated for many of the ills plaguing SA, from crime to unemployment. In many cases, Zimbabweans are assumed to be here illegally.

There are credible reports of Operation Dudula barging into businesses to conduct “audits” of the number of foreign workers and demanding the employers hire South Africans instead. There are also reports that these jobs are being sold to locals for several thousand rands.

Several institutes of higher learning decided to terminate the services of Zimbabwean teachers on the grounds that the ZEP system was coming to an end.

Some schools refused to register the children of Zimbabweans at the start of the current academic year, though these actions were wisely stopped by the education authorities.

Hate groups deny healthcare

One of the most shameful incidents involved Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba, who was caught on camera chastising a Zimbabwean patient admitted at a hospital in Bela-Bela, saying she should rather be in a hospital in Zimbabwe.

Advocate Simba Chitando, legal representative for Zepha, says he has received multiple reports of hate groups blocking the entrance to SA hospitals to prevent Zimbabweans accessing medical care. Others have been charged higher fees by hospitals because they are “foreigners”.

The cases of abuse are now legion, and all of this has been allowed to fester under the cloak of ridding the country of illegal foreigners.

These stories find their way into the Zimbabwean and international press, building an unflattering image of SA as intolerant and increasingly unfriendly place.

At a recent presentation to the Free Market Foundation, Frans Cronje of the Social Research Foundation detailed what were the uppermost issues for South African voters, and they were jobs and unemployment, crime and insecurity, corruption, basic services and illegal immigration, in that order. Racism came next, but is evidently a virtual non-issue for most, as less than 5% of those polled thought it of any importance in their lives.

Borders and bribes

Illegal immigration has become a hot button election issue, and the ANC is not alone in trying to capitalise on it. Last year Home Affairs despatched hundreds of border guards to stiffen security at Beitbridge Border Post and other borders.

It is well known that anyone arriving at a land border can enter SA for a fee, with or without the required documents.

A Zimbabwean businessman on a recent trip through Beitbridge tells Moneyweb he saw one of these border guards taking money and waving on a presumably illegal immigrant, perhaps carrying contraband. It’s hard to imagine these border guards are immune to the financial enticements that have blown holes in our borders.

A Moneyweb reader, incensed at the souring of relations between SA and Zimbabwe, wrote as follows: “The [SA] government should have embraced ZEP holders as their own. The contribution made by these innocent neighbours is huge. Authorities in government are confused in a very straightforward matter. Where in the world can a person spend 13 years and be denied the right to be a citizen?”

“Western countries are luring skilled people from Africa and it takes three to five years to obtain permanent status. Here, your neighbour is supporting his family, the SA economy, and our pensioners through taxation but is denied the right to stay permanently.

“Violation of human rights is rampant over this issue. Let’s treat fellow blacks with dignity. As a country we are going down. Will we have good memories when we become foreigners in their countries?”

Another point raised by Zepha is the financial drain on Zimbabweans having to pay more than R1 000 for each time the ZEP system and its predecessors was extended, and now they are required to apply yet again – this time for a visa waiver and then a work visa. By any reckoning, this has made hundreds of millions of rands for the government, which has cited lack of funds as one of the reasons for terminating the permit system.

Zepha argues that ZEP holders, having spent more than a decade in SA and built families, businesses and homes here, must be granted permanent residence and that the Immigration Act makes provision for this.

Fixing SA’s border problems is a critical issue, but should not be used as a cudgel against the millions of Zimbabweans in SA, who have made this their home and who make a massive contribution to the economy.