Pretoria – Opposition party, ActionSA said it is “disappointed and concerned” after Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced the extension of validity of the Zimbabwean exemption permits (ZEP) to June 30.
The special exemption permits held by less than 200 000 had been set to expire by December 31, following the current “grace period” set by the South African government.
Herman Mashaba, leader of the political outfit has criticised Motsoaledi for the six months’ extension of permits.
“South Africa has been under the grip of crime, economic squeeze, and a seemingly unending plethora of social ills allegedly due to the influx of migrants and mostly by undocumented and illegal immigrants,” Mashaba said.
“It is not long ago that violence flared in Kagiso west of Johannesburg when residents took the law into their own hands following the rape of local women by illegal zama-zamas known to be illegal Basotho hiding in the myriad of tunnels in the old West Rand mines. The police were left out of sorts as they are under capacitated to deal with the problem and relied on the locals to hand over the apprehended illegal foreigners.”
Mashaba said the Department of Home Affairs is “incompetent” to handle legal and illegal migration issue.
“ActionSA immigration policy is very clear that South Africa belongs to South Africans and that anyone in the world who desires to visit may do so, provided they follow the correct channels and observe our immigrations laws. The problem with this, ActionSA has observed, is the incompetence of Dr Motsoaledi’s Home Affairs department in dealing with legal immigration, let alone the illegal ones,” Mashaba said.
“According to Home Affairs, approximately 178 000 Zimbabweans were due to be deported by December 2022 due to expired permits or those who had not applied for renewal. These are the ones who are known and can be accounted for by the State.
“The extension of the Zimbabwean special permit to June 2023 is therefore a mockery of our constitutional democracy and further chips away at the autonomy of our State and its function, especially on managing our borders.”
Mashaba said the stance by the Department of Home Affairs “is a clear indication to South Africans that illegal immigration is not a priority in the eyes of Dr Motsoaledi and further poses a risk of a continued squeeze on our health care and social services and criminality in a system already bursting at the seams”.
He said ActionSA will continue to monitor the extent of this extension and its long-lasting negative effects on the South African society.
“Our Immigration Act is very clear on how to deal with this type of influx of immigration and especially on illegal immigration. We are of the view that no political will exists to deal decisively with this endemic problem to South Africa,” Mashaba said.
“Home Affairs should send a clear message to anyone entering our borders that South Africa is a sovereign country with its own laws which must be obeyed and adhered to, failure of which carries an appropriate sanction.”
On Friday night, the Department of Home Affairs announced that it had extended the ZEP from December 31 to June 30.
Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the department had appointed the departmental advisory committee (DAC) led by Dr Cassius Lubisi to assess the visa applications lodged by the affected Zimbabwean nationals.
The department also sought legal advice to handle court challenges relating to the decision not to extend the exemptions granted to the Zimbabwean nationals.
“The Minister of Home Affairs received a progress report from Dr Lubisi. The report states that the DAC has met on several occasions in order to execute its mandate, and their last meeting was held for the whole day on the 1st of September 2022.
“The DAC recommended to the minister that in view of the progress thus far, it will be prudent for the minister to consider extending the period within which the affected Zimbabwean nationals will have an opportunity to apply for visas and/or waivers for a further six months.
“The minister has carefully considered the request and decided to extend the period by a further six months, that is, 31 December 2022 to 30 June 2023,” Qoza said.
Home Affairs said it was also extending the ZEP for a further six months as only a few Zimbabwean nationals had so far applied for visas.
Home Affairs has called on affected Zimbabwean nationals to make use of the six months’ window of opportunity and not wait for the last moment to lodge their applications.
“There will be no further extension granted by the minister,” Qoza said.
IOL