JOHANNESBURG – It’s an anxious start to the year for over 200,000 Zimbabweans who now have just under 12 months to apply for permits to stay in South Africa legally.

The exemption permit which many had secured expired last year on 31 December.

The South African overnment has granted a year’s grace period to apply for various permits, but many Zimbabweans are worried about the process, given Home Affairs’ dismal track record when it comes to service delivery.

Officially, there were about a quarter of a million Zimbabweans living here under the special dispensation.

But with allegations of corrupt officials at the border posts and thousands being arrested every year while trying to cross the ineffective Beitbridge fence, it’s safe to say that there are far more Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa than those accounted for.

Cabinet said that its decision to stop the renewal of the exemption permit was motivated by the desire to ensure that eligible Zimbabweans could regularise their stay in the country.

Zimbabweans are encouraged to use the 12-month grace period to do so but that may prove to be difficult as Home Affairs has been battling years of backlogs.

Meanwhile, Cabinet has condemned the social media attacks on Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi in the wake of the decision to do away with the special exemption.

 Aaron Motsoaledi

It said it has noted the “numerous, strong attacks” made on Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi on social media.

Motsoaledi drew ire from thousands of Zimbabweans after Cabinet decided that it would not be issuing extensions to the now-expired Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) which was initiated in 2017.

But Cabinet did extend a 12-month grace period at the expiry of the current Zimbabwe Exemption Permit.

“During this period the holders of this permit should apply for other permits appropriate to their particular status or situation,” said Cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams.

“This decision was motivated by our desire to ensure that eligible Zimbabweans can regularise their stay in South Africa. We appeal to the holders of this permit to use the 12 months to regularize their status in South Africa,” added Williams.

“Given the above, we find the numerous social media attacks on Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi misplaced and should be condemned in the strongest term.”

Williams said that decisions of the executive are never decisions of an individual, rather they represent a collective decision.

“South Africa is governed by the rule of law, and as such all within its borders are expected to adhere to the law,” added Williams.

Williams said enforcement of border controls is applied to all nationalities who try to enter the country illegally as part of this country’s border management policies.

But, amid the social media trolls, there is widespread support and praise for Motsoaledi online, specifically among those who want low skilled Zimbabweans to return home because of the unemployment crisis in South Africa. – Eyewitness News/The Citizen