There are strong indications that the government of
Zimbabwe is not going to interfere with the directive citing that South Africa
is a sovereign state whose decisions must be respected.
The directive by South Africa’s Home Affairs minister Aaron
Motsoaledi withdrew the blanket waiver which was granted in April 2016,
targeting all foreign students based in that country.
Before the directive, foreign students studying in areas of
critical skills could apply for permanent residence before attaining five years
post-qualification experience, or without submitting testimonials from
employers.
An official at the Zimbabwean embassy in South Africa told
the Zimbabwe Independent that there was no need for an outcry or any form of
intervention because South Africa is a sovereign country which does not owe
anyone an explanation.
“These directives are issued by the government of South
Africa in the exercise of its sovereignty.
We cannot and must not appear to be challenging or
questioning the government’s authority to do so.
“This is a directive that has general application.
It’s not directed at Zimbabweans only and we have not
received any request for assistance from any of our students in respect of this
directive.
Our standing advice to all our nationals here is that they
must abide by the laws of this country.
That is a fundamental requirement,” the official said.
“That is the advice coming from the embassy.
The embassy can make representations to the South African
government where the circumstances warrant such representation and only if the
aggrieved national or nationals bring their grievances to our attention,” the
official added.
In the past, the embassy made representations on behalf of
students who would have been waiting for the issuance of their visas for a very
long time.
According to a January 31, 2022 Immigration Directive No. 2
of 2022, Motsoaledi said students who wished to apply for permanent residency
permits, had to comply with the country’s immigration laws.
“By virtue of the power vested in me by section 31(2) of
the Immigration Act, 2002, Act No 13 of 2002, I hereby withdraw the blanket
waiver which was granted on April 21,
2016, which waiver allowed foreign graduates at South African tertiary
institution that studied towards degrees in the area of critical skills, to
apply for a permanent residency permit without the need of first acquiring five
years post-qualification experience or the need to submit testimonials from
employees,” Motsoaledi said.
Contacted for comment, Zimbabwean ambassador to South
Africa, David Hamadziripi said his office was still assessing the impact of
Motsoaledi’s directive on Zimbabwean students in the neighbouring country.
“I have just seen the minister’s directive and it is,
obviously, going to affect a lot of Zimbabweans based in South Africa.
However, I have not yet met my staff to assess the impact
of the said directive. We will be convening a meeting with my colleagues so
that we come up with an informed opinion on the latest development,”
Hamadziripi said.
The latest directive comes after Pretoria stopped renewing
the Zimbabwean Special Permits (ZEPs) that expired in December last year, and
opted to give the permit holders a year to move to other visa regimes or face
deportation.
ZEP was introduced in 2009 by then Home Affairs minister
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as a temporary solution to a growing refugee crisis
related to Zimbabwe.
There are an estimated 180 000 ZEP holders in South Africa.
In December, ZEP holders filed urgent court applications to
overturn the decision taken by Motsoaledi not to renew their permits.
The High Court in Pretoria struck their applications off
the roll of urgent matters.
South African nationals are lobbying for Zimbabwean
immigrants to leave accusing them of stealing jobs.
South Africa has to date tightened border control measures
to stop illegal immigrants from entering that country. Zimbabwe Independent
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