JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – A call for 180,000 Zimbabweans facing deportation from South Africa when their permits expire in June to register with their embassy in Pretoria for assisted repatriation has received no takers so far, officials disclosed on Tuesday.
“Most of them want the facilitation to return, either at the end of May or in the course of June. So, presently there are no [formal requests], there is no facilitation because there have been no such requests,” Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa David Hamadziripi told journalists.
South Africa has advised 180,000 Zimbabweans who were on a special work permit, known as the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP), to apply for other visas, warning that the ZEP will not be renewed beyond June 30 after a six-month extension announced last December.
Hamadziripi announced in February that the embassy would begin registering affected Zimbabwean citizens who would be provided with transport and waivers to take their possessions to Zimbabwe without paying customs duties.
During the economic and political strife in Zimbabwean from 2007 to 2009, many of the country’s nationals fled to South Africa.
The South African government at the time decided to create a blanket exemption so Zimbabweans could get permits to live and work in the country legally.
The permits were effectively extended by creating another permit over the years and have since become known as the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).
In December 2021, the South African government announced the termination of the ZEP, effectively announcing no further exemption would be created for holders and their children.
This decision was challenged by the Helen Suzman Foundation, which argued in court that the decision was procedurally unfair and irrational. The matter is pending.
