Zim citizens brace for bad Christmas

WHILE the rest of South Africa is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas at the end of the year, thousands of Zimbabweans say December will be the beginning of their nightmare.

This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) will be done away with.

This means Zimbabwean nationals who were on this permit will now have to apply for other visas that allow them to be in the country.

The ZEP made it easy for Zimbabweans of low skills to be in the country. Many of those who had this permit had been in the country for more than 10 years. It is estimated that about 200000 Zimbabwean nationals are affected.

The Helen Suzman Foundation has challenged Home Affairs’ decision to discontinue the ZEP. The group has argued that this could have an impact on the human rights of some Zimbabweans.

The Cape Argus’ sister paper the Star spoke to several of those who were affected by the withdrawal of the ZEP about the impact of the decision on their lives.

Lucia Nkomo (not real her name) said she had been in South Africa for at least three decades. She said she had hope that she would stay in South Africa longer after she willingly offered her fraudulent South African ID to authorities.

Nkomo said she had been on a renewable permit since she handed over her fake ID in 2010.

She said she was now being harassed by xenophobic law-enforcement officials who would frequently make remarks that December will be time up for most Zimbabweans in South Africa.

“We have been staying here long, we have properties here and South Africa is our home now, it’s not going to be easy to leave just like that,” Nkomo said.

Nkomo, who is a domestic worker, does not fit into the category of rare skills, and said she was afraid that applying for a working visa would be a waste of time for her.

“They made that process so strict and I am a domestic worker. I am not a doctor, so applying is going to be a waste of R1 500,” she said.

Meanwhile, a Zimbabwean businessman in Joburg, Busani Ngwenya, said he had been in South Africa for more than 20 years.

He said he left Zimbabwe because the economy was collapsing and work was scarce. Ngwenya said he also was in possession of a fraudulent ID but turned it in during an amnesty period in 2010.

Ngwenya has been on a number of permits. He said his entire life had been turned upside down because of the decision to discontinue the ZEP.

“I am running a business in Joburg and I work with another guy, both of us are sending money back home because things are not good in Zim.”

Ngwenya said he could not apply for a business permit because he needed to have at least R5 million in his account.

“I do not have such funds, so I feel hopeless,” he said.