S.Africa Says 250,000 Zimbabweans Can Stay, for Now
South Africa on Tuesday said around 250,000 Zimbabweans living in the country on temporary visas due to expire this year can get three-year extensions, delaying a possible mass expulsion of workers.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said a scheme that allowed Zimbabweans to flee the political crisis at home on four-year work visas would be extended until 2017.
"The new special permit is valid only for three years," Gigaba told reporters, making it clear this was only a reprieve for worried Zimbabweans.
Following violence-tainted elections in 2008 and land grabs that spooked investors, Zimbabwe plunged into a deep recession that saw sky-high unemployment and hyperinflation running into the billions of percent.
Zimbabweans can be found across South Africa working in the mining, retail, service and financial sectors.
But Gigaba, part of a government under pressure to stem South Africa's own high and growing levels of unemployment, indicated the hospitality would come to an end.
Although the Zimbabwean economy is still struggling with unemployment rates of over 50 percent, Gigaba said the next three years would allow those who want to return home to do so.
"While we note the ongoing political and economic recovery in Zimbabwe... we are aware that it may take time for her to fully stabilize," he said.
"People had organized their lives over the past four years," he said. "We can't just ask them to pack and go. We need to allow them to organize their lives because we believe the situation in Zimbabwe has improved."
Those on special permits who would like to stay on in South Africa after 2017 will have to return to Zimbabwe to apply for permits under the normal immigration rules, if they qualify.
"A special permit does not grant you access to permanent residence," said Gigaba.
He also paid special tribute Zimbabwean migrants especially those employed in the health and education sectors.
"We appreciate the contribution of immigrants in our country in terms of enhancing our social, cultural and economic life," he said.
South Africa in May introduced immigration reforms aimed at tightening visa regulations and closing loopholes.
Source: Agence France Presse
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