By Takunda Mandura
Patricia Marima, a Zimbabwean mother of four living in the South African town of Benoni near Johannesburg since 2008, sighs in relief at the thought that she has until December to sort her paperwork to regularise her stay in the country.
Like many from her native country based in South Africa, Marima had felt the burden of proof ease off her shoulders when the minister of home affairs Dr Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi issued an immigration directive last week.
This directive grants a six-month grace period to the estimated 178,000 Zimbabweans facing deportation at the end of June unless they applied for permits to regularise their stay.
"This extension is something that I wasn't expecting; it caught me off guard, the reason being it has been extended twice before, and now for the third time,'' Patricia Marima tells TRT Afrika.
''I am optimistic that our paperwork will be ready by December. I want to stay here for my four children, for their lives are here," she says.
The permit system that allows Zimbabweans to live, work and study in South Africa was due to expire on June 30, leaving holders with the option of applying for alternative visas or returning to Zimbabwe.
About 773,000 Zimbabweans are settled in South Africa and seeking employment, according to 2022 census data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency. Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders number around 178,000.
The ZEP programme began when the South African government granted "special dispensation" for Zimbabweans who were in the country illegally, many of them having fled economic and political instability in their native land.
The South African government replaced Special Dispensation for Zimbabweans with Zimbabwean Special Permits (ZSP) in 2014, and again in 2017 with the introduction of the ZEP.
“We have been receiving between 1,000 and 1,500 applications every single day," the South African Broadcasting Corporation quotes minister Motsoaledi as saying.
Constant errors
Zimbabwe Community in South Africa leader Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena is optimistic that ZEP holders will be able to regularise their stay in SA, thanks to the extended deadline.
“This extension is a lifeline for thousands of permit holders who had been struggling to complete their paperwork in line with the November 25, 2021 directive of the South African cabinet," he tells TRT Afrika.
Visa processing services company VFS has been engaged to open the Midrand and or any other ZEP-dedicated facility to ease the pressure of booking slots.
"We have asked them to give value to the fee paid by applicants. We have also sought an increase in the capacity of their website and attention to constant errors, including the very low timeout period while entering details, among other technical glitches. We hope these engagements bear fruit and help expedite the applications," says Mabhena.
Zimbabwe Exiles Forum chairperson, advocate Gabriel Shumba, remains hopeful that relief may come via the courts, although a decision has already been taken by the department and the cabinet at a political level.
"We urge ZEP holders to migrate to mainstream visas despite the constraints," he says.
Before the extension, the Zimbabwean government had committed to assisting all those who wanted to return home at the expiry of their permits. At least 8,000 Zimbabwean migrants had already registered to be part of the first batch of returnees.
Economic contributions
Zimbabweans choosing to return have been given a special facility by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to ship all fully-owned assets before the date of arrival in the country duty-free.
The Zimbabwe dollar is imploding, forcing retailers to scramble for answers by doubling prices compared to previous weeks, and causing a fresh headache for President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration ahead of elections scheduled for later this year.
What was known as the bread basket of Africa suffered an unexpected fate in the early 2000s.
The crisis in the country has since had terrible consequences for the region as a whole since Zimbabwe lies at the heart of southern Africa, according to former Mozambique President Joachim Chissano.
He aired this view during the Structured Dialogue Platform Meeting on arrears and debt resolution. Economic growth has generally been volatile over the past decade, characterised by high inflation, multiple exchange rates, and unsustainable debt levels.
All of this combined have increased the cost of production, reduced incentives for productivity-enhancing investment, and encouraged informality.
Zimbabwean expatriates have been pivotal in supporting family and friends back home through diaspora remittances.
The diaspora in South Africa and the United Kingdom accounted for the bulk of remittances last year, reaching $1.66 billion from $1.43 billion in 2021, official data shows.
Of the $1.66 billion remittances that flowed into Zimbabwe last year, 40% ($583 million) originated in South Africa, while the United Kingdom accounted for 25% ($362 million).
Tensions ahead
"We are seeing some issues triggered by xenophobic movements for an economy that is coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic – an economy that is facing challenges such as electricity to keep the engines of the economy running," says Gibson Nyikadzino, a political analyst based in Zimbabwe's Harare.
Gorden Dzikiti, a Zimbabwean in South Africa, is of the view that the time given for people from his country to regularise their stay is too little.
“It isn't really enough to cater to everyone, and also not enough for people to get waivers. In any case, after getting the waiver, you need to apply for a general work permit. If I can take a permit to home affairs, it will take plus or minus eight months for the ministry to clear it," he explains.
Global South Against Xenophobia and Lawyers for Human Rights say the cancellation of the ZEP has caused enormous stress and is unfair.
Advocate Simba Chitando, who is representing the Zimbabwe Permit Holders Association in the legal battle with the ministry of home affairs at the High Court in Pretoria, says the extension only provides temporary relief to permit holders.
"The only real option is permanent residency," he says. Banks have already started sending messages saying that the accounts of ZEP holders will expire on December 31, 2023 – raising fresh fears of potential continued limbo.
