Government's decision to end permit for Zimbabweans is shameful

News 24 – 27 June 2022

2022 arrives, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, like his peers in Cabinet, will be with their families and will not have to fear being displaced from a country they've called home. 

Instead, this will be the reality for thousands of Zimbabweans who will be affected by Cabinet's decision made last December to cancel, without consideration, the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP). 

The resolve was made without due regard for what would happen to tens of thousands of people who came to South Africa seeking nothing but a better life, and whose lives will now be upended by this decision.

The exemption permits were granted to more than 250 000 Zimbabweans who were among more than estimated two million who migrated to neighbouring countries at the height of Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis in 2008 and 2009. 

The temporary measure was meant to regularise their presence in South Africa and allow Zimbabweans access to services such as banking. But now government has decided to cancel this measure without putting proper plans in place.

The one-year grace period expires at the end of this year. 

In justifying government's decision, Motsoaledi bemoaned how "people keep blaming the immigration services of South Africa, as if when one country creates a crisis, the country closest to it must respond by building the requisite capacity to deal with that crisis. That's the logic here".

The thing is, the South African government did play a role in the political crises that engulfed Zimbabwe, resulting in the economic crises, by allowing the Mugabe regime to get away with rigging the 2002 election and many other crimes after that.

There's much to be said about former president Thabo Mbeki's complicity in the actions of the Mugabe regime as was revealed by the Khampepe report, which government spent 12 years blocking from becoming public. 

Those who got caught in the crossfire of the political and economic crises in Zimbabwe did all they could to flee for a better life, turning to neighbouring South Africa for refuge. 

Now, these people face further displacement as they risk deportation once the ZEP expires at the end of the year.  

Those who left Zimbabwe and settled in South Africa, have called this home for over 10 years. They have had children here and built their lives here. 

As you will see in News24's Unwelcomed Neighbours, the decision to revoke the permit affects all types of people from across the social spectrum. It impacts on teachers, truck drivers and doctors. It will separate families and leave others stranded without cars or access to banking.

It interrupts university students who were trying to complete their degrees and it affects people like Angeline, who has been living and working in South Africa for near on a decade, but will not be able to seek treatment for brain cancer at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, without a valid permit.

She is currently in remission, but fears for her life. Gladys says she has sleepless nights because she does not even have a home in Zimbabwe. "l don't know where I am going to live when I get deported. I am going to sleep in the street because l have nowhere to go to," she said. 

Others like Kelvin Chunyemba are worried about what this decision means for their children.

"The main issue is with kids who are going to school. Some are already at a higher level, so changing them to a new different curriculum is a big obstacle. Now the banks are threatening to freeze the accounts. It's all a mess," he said. 

As many activists and ordinary people affected by this decision will tell you, government's processes make applying for another permit difficult and sometimes almost impossible. 

People like Obey Shana want to comply with government's decision, but believe a grace period of one year does not give them enough time to sort out their lives, to either return to Zimbabwe or to apply for the necessary documentation in South Africa. 

What further stood out for us in probing the impact of Cabinet's decision to end the ZEP was the fear among ordinary Zimbabweans of being identified. They are worried that they will fall victim to movements like Operation Dudula, who have been emboldened in their xenophobia by government's decision. 

With just six months to go until the permit is cancelled, tens of thousands of Zimbabweans - our neighbours - will no longer be welcome in South Africa and their lives will be turned upside down again. In the spirit of ubuntu, we should all be ashamed. 

www.samigration.com

 

 

Home affairs department fails to serve citizens and non-nationals

Mail & Guardian - 27 Jun 2022

services provided by the department of home affairs are of primary importance to everyone residing in South Africa, both citizens and non-nationals. It is crucial to have a functioning department that can handle the civic needs of citizens and non-nationals. The department’s failures are well-documented and well-known to any South African who has tried to apply for an identity document, passport, or register their child’s birth. 

It has become an accepted norm that one may have to take time off from everyday commitments to queue outside one of the department’s offices for hours. Even then, assistance is not guaranteed. On most days, the system is down and only a handful of people can be assisted. Repeat visits to a local department office are a norm before successful assistance can be received.

While the relationship between the department and South African citizens has proven to be a frustrating challenge for most, its relationship with asylum seekers and refugees is in a worse state of atrophy. South Africa is arguably a major destination for displaced people seeking refuge, and economic migrants as well. As such, the country needs a proactive and progressive department to address these different immigration needs. 

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), South Africa currently hosts about 77 000 recognised refugees and 187 000 asylum seekers. While the exact number of undocumented persons in the country is unknown, Statistics South Africa estimates that about 3.95 million people in South Africa are foreign born. This number includes “migrants of all types and is collated regardless of legal status”. This estimation correlates with the World Bank Group’s 2018 report that 3% to 7% of persons living in South Africa may be non-nationals. Given South Africa’s estimated population of 60 million, the implication is that between 1.8 and 4.2 million individuals may be of foreign origin. 

The department has a duty to facilitate, regulate and execute South Africa’s immigration laws and policies, and must do so in a manner that complies with the international laws it is signatory to, and with human rights standards. This has not always been the case. Through its refugee reception offices and accompanying services, the department has the power to accept, process and adjudicate applications for asylum. 

The department holds the key to the future of asylum seekers, refugees, and children born to them. While the laws and policies that govern asylum seekers and refugees in South Africa have been regarded as largely progressive, refugees and asylum seekers are increasingly facing difficulties in accessing their rights as a result of policies and practices that prevent them from regularising their stays. The closure of three refugee reception offices has also been central to this.

In 2011, the Johannesburg and Gqeberha refugee reception offices were closed with the intention of moving all refugee reception offices to border areas to speed up and streamline the asylum process — or so the department said. Asylum seekers and refugees who opened their files at these offices had to travel to Durban, Musina or Pretoria to renew their permits, go for interviews, or join family members to their files.  

Long distance travel is unaffordable to most in South Africa, including asylum seekers and refugees. Some will have to make the trip multiple times or stay around the refugee reception office for extended periods because offices may decide to assist specific nationals on a particular day of the week. The Gqeberha refugee reception office reopened after prolonged litigation but the Johannesburg office remains permanently closed.

On 30 June 2012, the Cape Town refugee reception office closed to new applications for similar reasons. Although the office remains open to existing asylum seekers and refugees, those who had not applied for asylum at the Cape Town office prior to 30 June 2012 are in the same position as those who initially applied in Johannesburg and Gqeberha. After prolonged litigation launched in 2012 by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) on behalf of the Scalabrini Centre and the Somali Association for South Africa, the supreme court of appeal in 2017 held that the decision to close the Cape Town refugee reception office was unlawful and directed the department to re-open the office to new applications. Because of the department’s failure to comply with this order, and a fresh application being launched by the LRC on behalf of its clients, the Western Cape high court in 2021 ordered that the matter should be placed under case management, requiring the department to provide the court with monthly progress reports. The Cape Town refugee reception office remains closed to new applications. 

With the declaration of the national state of disaster in 2020, all refugee reception offices were closed to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, meaning that the immigration services available to asylum seekers and refugees were further limited. Although the department granted a blanket extension to asylum seekers or refugees whose permits expired during the lockdown, no provision was made for new asylum seekers to obtain documentation. 

In April 2021, the department introduced an online system through which existing asylum seekers and refugees could apply for a permit extension. This was an attempt to ensure that asylum seekers and refugees remain documented but many reported a lack of feedback on the status of their application or any acknowledgement whatsoever that an application was received. 

Asylum seekers and refugees are not new to the bureaucratic inefficiencies, poor infrastructure, and corruption of the department. The closure of refugee reception offices arguably implies a systematic attempt to reduce the asylum population by limiting service centres, and inadvertently overburdening remaining offices with applications. Some applicants have been waiting for recognition of their status for more than 12 years. 

The department’s failure to effectively provide immigration services has dire consequences for asylum seekers and refugees who are often left undocumented for months or years. They risk losing employment and accommodation and may be deported even if they have a valid refugee claim. When an asylum seeker is finally interviewed to determine whether they may be declared as a refugee, the chances of success are poor – 96% of applications are rejected, often based on “poor decision-making and lack of sound reasoning”.

In 2021, the department announced that the Refugee Appeal Authority — the administrative tribunal that considers applications rejected by the refugee status determination officer — faces a backlog of more than 153 000 applications. The auditor general has indicated that, should the department continue to operate as it does, it will take 68 years to address the backlog without factoring in any new applications. The consequence of the backlog is that many individuals entitled to asylum or refugee status are stuck without knowing whether they should build a new life for themselves in South Africa while they remain on the fringes of legality. 

South Africa’s Constitution guarantees the basic human rights of all people. Without documentation, these rights are illusory for many.

www.samigration.com

 

Understanding the Helen Suzman Foundation Zimbabwean permit case against Home Affairs

Groundup - 27 Jun 2022

Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans living in South Africa may find themselves undocumented on 1 January 2023. The HSF is trying to stop this.

The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) is taking the Minister of Home Affairs to court, seeking to set aside what it describes as a “hasty, untransparent and ill-considered” decision not to renew, beyond December of this year, the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (Zep).

About 178,000 Zimbabwean nationals live, study and work legally in South Africa with the Zep. The permit was first introduced 13 years ago to regularise the status of the many Zimbabweans living in the country.

The HSF says in its application, filed in the Pretoria high court, that the Zep was introduced in recognition of the dire situation in Zimbabwe and to alleviate pressure on the Department of Home Affairs in processing applications for asylum.

But now, they face becoming “undocumented” at the end of this year.

HSF executive director Nicole Fritz says in her affidavit that this will expose Zimbabwean immigrants to dangers of xenophobic attacks, extortion, detention and deportation.

They will lose their jobs, businesses and homes. They will lose access to banking services. Their children could be denied access to schooling, medical care and social services and they will be forced to return to Zimbabwe.

“They will be put to a desperate choice: to remain in South Africa as undocumented migrants with all the vulnerability that attaches to such status or return to a Zimbabwe that, to all intents and purposes, is unchanged from the country they fled.

“There are thousands of children who have been born in South Africa to Zep holders during this time who have never even visited their parents’ country of origin,” Fritz said.

The HSF wants a judge to rule that the minister’s decision, announced in January this year, to terminate the Zep is unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid, and that it be reviewed and remitted back to the minister for reconsideration “using a fair process” involving meaningful engagement with those affected and civil society.

“We do not contend that the minister is obliged to extend exemptions in perpetuity, nor do we argue that permit holders may never have their permits withdrawn. This case concerns the manner in which the minister reached his decision,” Fritz says.

“It should have been taken following a fair process, for good reason and with a meaningful opportunity for permit holders to regularise their status.

“A decision of this consequence, impacting more than 178,000 people, required proper information on who would be affected, including children, and a careful assessment of the current conditions in Zimbabwe,” Fritz said.

She said the minister’s “silence on the impact” coupled with an absence of any meaningful justification, threatened to reinforce and entrench xenophobic attitudes towards the permit holders.

“It suggests their lives and rights are of lesser concern and may be disregarded entirely in pursuit of political expediency.

“This unavoidable impression is reinforced by the minister’s press statement in which he claimed to have received overwhelming support of the decision by South African citizens expressed in messages widely circulated on social media.

“A brief search of these posts turns up countless messages expressing xenophobic attitudes, crude stereotypes and hate speech,” Fritz said.

She said economic and political conditions in Zimbabwe had not materially changed.

In fact, reports by credible international organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF and Human Rights Watch, were unanimous that conditions remain dire, that poverty rates were rising alarmingly and political life was characterised by widespread violence and social upheaval.

There were also legal and practical barriers to the permit holders obtaining alternative visas.

Four permit holders, including a Johannesburg teacher, have put up affidavits in support of the application, highlighting their fears for their future, and that of their families, should their permits lapse at the end of December.

The Minister and Director-General of Home Affairs have four weeks to file opposing affidavits.

www.samigration.com

 

Me working here was our only lifeline: December 2022 deadline looms for Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders

News24 23 June 2022

 

"New immigration policy undoubtedly intends to crack down on foreign nationals unlawfully working in South Africa."

• The new immigration policy undoubtedly intends to crack down on foreign nationals unlawfully working in South Africa.
• Zimbabwean domestic workers and labourers without proper work permits will face deportation by the end of the year.
• We chat with a legal professional to understand what this policy is about, how it will affect ZEP holders, and what it will do for South Africa's economy.

The South African government has said that Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders must find alternative ways to stay in South Africa legally by 31 December 2022.

Only Zimbabweans with a Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) Global receipt to show that they have applied for an alternate visa can continue working, studying, and using banks.

Unfortunately, the situation will be very bleak for Zimbabwean labourers, construction workers, e-hailing drivers, gardeners, and domestic workers because they will not qualify for the other visas in the Immigration Act, such as permanent residence, study visa, and critical skills visas as they do not fall under these categories.

'Children attending school in SA'

One concerned father said he came to South Africa in 2011. He has two children with South African women. The two children are attending school in South Africa, and he is financially responsible for them. Should he be deported, the children would be at risk of dropping out of school and living in extreme poverty.

The father said he tried to apply for a critical skills work visa and registered with the SA Body of Natural Sciences and the South African Qualifications Authority, but didn't get approval because he didn't have the required years of work experience.

'Their contribution to society remains unrecognised' Ramaphosa praises domestic workers

Speaking at a Cosatu women's event in Ekurhuleni, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa praised domestic workers for their role in the country, saying that more needs to be done to ensure their rights are protected, and they receive decent wages.

Deportation will devastate family

A mom who wanted to remain anonymous and works as a childminder told us she was devastated when she heard the news that Zimbabweans without a proper work permit would be deported.

"I support three children in Zimbabwe. I am also supporting my mother financially as she has health challenges. Me working here was our only lifeline, and I am very worried."

To understand what this policy is about, how it will affect ZEP holders in South Africa, and why it is necessary, News24 spoke to Bernard Reisner, a labour and industrial consultant at Cape Labour & Industrial Consultants, a law firm based in Cape Town.

'First comprehensive national policy'

"The Draft National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) is the first comprehensive national policy on South Africa's labour migration management," said Reisner.

He said the policy sought to achieve a "brain gain" through skills entering the country and counter a "brain drain" through skills leaving the country.

"The NLMP has been created to make it legal for the government to regulate the employment of foreign nationals in South Africa," Reisner added.

Why implement such a policy?

This comprehensive labour migration policy was implemented because South Africa was the most prominent host of foreign nationals when compared to other African countries.

The draft policy will attempt to put more power in the hands of the Department of Employment and Labour, rather than Home Affairs, to govern and manage labour migration.

"Historically, Home Affairs has been the main administrative authority, with the Department of Employment and Labour acting mostly in an advisory capacity," explained Reisner.

The policy stated that it would make labour migration more beneficial to the South African economy through interventions that would attract and retain skills in the country.

'Enforcing the policy is key'

Reisner said the draft policy was undoubtedly aimed at cracking down on foreign nationals unlawfully working in South Africa.

"Writing a policy is one aspect, and implementing it is another. South Africa does not have a great track record for enforcing the existing labour and migration laws," said Reisner.

However, the NLMP policy has not yet been set in stone. 

"It still needs to go through a parliamentary process that will likely take a lengthy time," he added.

Foreign nationals urged to get registered and stay away from criminal activities

Anti-crime protests turned violent last week and led to a vigilante attack on a Zimbabwean national, Elvis Nyati, with the mob killing and burning him

Fine or imprisonment

But he cautioned that an employer who knowingly employed a foreign national who did not possess a valid work permit, could be fined or face imprisonment of up to one year for a first offence.

"It should be noted that even if a domestic worker does not have a valid work permit, they still enjoy all the rights afforded by labour legislations such as the Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act," he elaborated.

"Once the NLMP is made known, it shall reaffirm that a domestic worker/nanny who is a foreign national employed in South Africa, without a relevant work permit, shall not be entitled to continue working legally in South Africa," Reisner said.

"A domestic worker does not fall within the ambit of critical skills to perform their work. As a result hereof, persons employed in this sector can be sourced by South African citizens to meet South Africa's labour market needs". 

www.samigration.com

 

IT’S OFFICIAL: Face masks are gone, border checks and gatherings ban dropped

Business Insider SA – 23 June 2022

• As of Wednesday, South Africans no longer need to wear face masks.
• Limits on gatherings and border checks for Covid-19 – and the need to be vaccinated to enter South Africa – have also been dropped.
• Health minister Joe Phaahla quietly repealed the regulations by notice in the Government Gazette, ahead of a planned press conference on Thursday.

As of Wednesday, South Africans no longer need to wear masks indoors in public settings.

Limits on gatherings, and border checks – including for vaccination status – have also been dropped.

Health minister Joe Phaahla repealed the relevant regulations with a simple notice in the Government Gazette, the import of which was not immediately evident because of the technical nature of the notice.

Phaahla is due to join the minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, for a press briefing on Thursday, about cabinet deliberations after the health department advised that Covid-19 restrictions should be dropped.

They were expected to announce that President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet had signed off on ending the last major restrictions relating to Covid-19, first imposed during what was expected to be a lockdown of three weeks.

The mask mandate and other restrictions had originally been imposed under the authority of a national state of disaster. When that was discontinued, the same rules were imposed under the power granted to the health minister to deal with notifiable medical conditions.

By repealing three sections of those regulations, "in their entirety", Phaahla with immediate effect ended those obligations. 

Capetonians take advantage of new Covid-19 mask regulations

On Wednesday South Africans had the pleasure of roaming the streets and other outdoor spaces without having to wear a mask, for the first time in over two years. This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa relaxed regulations under alert Level 1. He went on to say that wearing masks indoors, is still compulsory.

The repealed rules formed part of what is formally known as the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions, into which they were inserted on 4 May. They are:

• 16A: "Wearing of face masks to contain the spread of Covid-19", which required a mask in any public-use indoor space or when on public transport
• 16B: "Regulation of gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19", which limited any gathering of more than 100 people to 50% of maximum venue capacity if everyone was vaccinated, or to an absolute maximum of 1,000 people indoors or 2,000 people outdoors if vaccination status was not checked.
• 16C: "Regulation of persons entering the country to contain the spread of Covid-19", which demanded either vaccination certificates or recent negative PCR tests, or proof of recovery from Covid-19, from all travellers older than 12 entering South Africa.

The three sets of regulations, now scrapped entirely, had each contained clauses that would have allowed Phaahla to temporarily suspend their enforcement, then reinstate them again if he saw fit.

In a letter to MECs dated two days ago, Phaahla said "current epidemiological analysis points towards lower infection rates and that the country has exited the recent spike (5th wave), which the current limited regulations were promulgated to mitigate."

He told those provincial health leaders that recommendations to scrap regulations 16A, 16B, and 16C would be discussed by cabinet "in the next 48-72 hours".

That expectation turned out to be overly pessimistic, but the speed with which the proposals were processed remained secret, with the Presidency on Wednesday still unable to "confirm any timelines" around meetings.

www.samigration.com