ZEP expiry: Many permit holders intend to stay in SA until very last minute - Zimbabwean ambassador
28 Apr 2023 | News24
No Zimbabwean citizen has approached their government for assistance in being repatriated back home before their Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) expire, the country's ambassador to South Africa has said.
In a telephone interview with News24, Ambassador David Hamadziripi said they only have Zimbabweans who indicated they might, if need be, go back home on the eve of the permits' expiry date, 30 June.
"We have not helped anyone going back to Zimbabwe. This is because no one came to us with a formal request for that assistance, but what we came across during the mapping exercise were Zimbabweans who said they might need the help closer to the expiry of the permits. That's May and June," he said.
The special permits were due to expire in December last year, but a six-month extension was granted to allow people to apply for other available visas.
But come 30 June, an estimated 178 000 Zimbabweans living in South Africa face an uncertain future and possible deportation.
Opportunities 'at home'
Fewer than 5% of those with ZEPs have applied for other permits.
There is currently a court challenge by the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation to seek interim relief, and another by the Helen Suzman Foundation challenging the legality of the cancellation of permits.
While there seems to be a wait-and-see approach, Hamadziripi said many Zimbabwean citizens had declared their intention to stay until the last minute.
He said: "Even before the court cases got under way, we came across Zimbabweans who intended to stay until the last month of the validity of their permits."
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said his government is prepared for its nationals to return and that they "have opportunities to contribute [to] here at home".
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