South Africa to Deport Undocumented Migrants

Hlengiwe Nhlabathi

30 June 2011

Pretoria — Any undocumented Zimbabweans still in SA by the end of the government’s amnesty period in July will be deported, home affairs said on Thursday.

When the July 31 moratorium extended last year to Zimbabweans expired, those who were still undocumented would be given a grace period, then sent back home, head of the Zimbabwe document project Jacob Mamabolo told reporters.

This grace period would also allow those whose applications were rejected to appeal, he said. He would not say how long this period was going to be.

Earlier this year, the number of rejected applications was just over 100,000. The high number forced the department to review them.

“The number was too high…Then it emerged there was inconsistency in the application of requirements, and we wanted to view their applications in a manner that enhances registration,” Mamabolo said.

Last year, the government called on all Zimbabweans in possession of fraudulent South African IDs to return them to home affairs without being prosecuted. This also included a special dispensation and moratorium on deportations.

According to the department’s statistics, there are approximately 1.5 million Zimbabweans in the country. However, the December 31, 2010 deadline saw only 275,762 registering to legalise their residency.

On Thursday, the department said 133,331 permits had so far been issued to Zimbabweans. However, not all applicants had collected them.

“The figure includes those who applied for amnesty… Issuing does not mean they are collected.”

Mamabolo said that despite SMS’s sent to those who had not yet collected their documents, some still remained at the department. Others still needed to submit further documentation and have their fingerprints taken.

“The department continues to do everything in its power to ensure it meets its obligation to document Zimbabweans living in South Africa.

However, we can only succeed with the full support of all applicants.”

Documents would be kept for 30 days, and then destroyed.

The department would meet the Zimbabwean stakeholders’ forum next Monday, to ask them to encourage their compatriots to collect their papers.

Mamabolo said his department had adjudicated 263,141 applications. A total of 12,621 were still outstanding.

He was confident the department would meet the July deadline to conclude the process, after which it would focus on other nationalities.

“We continue to interact with the Zimbabwean embassy and consulate to ensure the fast-tracking of the issuance of the necessary travel documents to those who applied for them.”

The consulate also had until July 31 to issue passports to those who had applied.

The success of the project was also premised on support from other groups, including the insurance industry, the Financial Intelligence Centre and major banks — where some Zimbabweans had opened accounts and acquired loans using fraudulently acquired ID books.

Many Zimbabweans had over the past few years entered South Africa illegally to escape the deteriorating political and socio-economic climate in that country.

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