Cape Argus reports that SA, which was once looked upon as a place of refuge and possible safe haven for Zimbabwean nationals, is gearing up for what is expected to be one of the largest exoduses this year of Zimbabweans.

This follows a directive by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi that the current six-month extension of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) will be the last extension, so bringing the ZEPs to an end on 30 June. According to the “Country Report South Africa: Complementary pathways and the Zimbabwean Dispensation Project” authored by UCT associate professor Dr Fatima Khan and UCT’s refugee rights unit, this will impact 178,000 holders of the temporary protection permit. The ZEPs were the government’s temporary response to the large numbers of Zimbabweans entering the country from 2008, thereby placing strain on the asylum-seeker system. In September 2010, the SA government announced the Dispensation Zimbabwean Project (DZP) permit lasting four years, which was extended for four years in August 2014, and renamed the Zimbabwean Special Permit (ZSP). Another extension was granted for three years, ending in December 2021, with the permit having been re-branded as the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP). The grace period given until 30 June 2023 was to allow for ZEP holders to apply for alternate status in SA. Zimbabweans feel that the decision to end the permit was largely political for numerous reasons, including gaining support among South Africans over the country’s position relating to foreign migration into the country.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shakirah Thebus at Cape Argus

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