adminregularise their stay in that country and dismissed reports there will be mass deportation after the process.
It is understood that the completion of the adjudication was in line with South Africa’s commitment to finalise the process by the end of July 2011 following discussions between Home Affairs Minister
Mrs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and her Zimbabwean counterparts in February this year in Pretoria.
In a statement on Monday, the head on the Zimbabwe documentation project, Mr Jacob Mamabolo said: “Today Monday 1 August confirms that the department has met its own internal deadline of adjudicating all 275 762 applications for work, study and business permits from undocumented Zimbabwean nationals which were submitted by 31 December 2010.
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“Any other deadline we announced before, related to internal processes and had nothing to do with new applications by Zimbabweans. Following the deadline of 31 December 2010, no new applications for work, business and study permits in terms of the Zimbabwe documentation project are or will be accepted.
“The department will continue to dispatch permits to those applicants who have not yet received them by informing via SMS. We appeal to those who have applied for amnesty to contact their nearest Home Affairs offices to complete their amnesty confirmation forms, which will enable the department to create the necessary data-base link with financial and or banking institutions.
“The department would want to reiterate its gratitude to all Zimbabweans who took time from their schedules to take advantage of the offer from the South African government to legalise their stay in
South Africa including applying for amnesty by returning fraudulently acquired South African documents to the department.”
Mr Mamabomlo said the success of the adjudication process had been largely due to the co-operation the department received from Zimbabweans living in South Africa in general and the South
African-Zimbabwean Stakeholder Forum in particular encompassing Zimbabwean organisations and the Zimbabwean Embassy,
Consulate and the Zimbabwean Registrar General. He dismissed claims of mass deportations of Zimbabweans soon after the regularision process.
He said South Africa would revert to the normal processes of immigration in line with domestic and international prescripts.
Mr Mamabolo also said that their department’s view was that the majority of Zimbabwean citizens living in South Africa were law abiding citizens who wanted to comply with South Africa’s immigration laws.
“As soon as Minister Dlamini Zuma concludes the review process, this will have the effect of bringing down the curtain of the Zimbabwean documentation project. Minister Dlamini Zuma has observed that the finalisation of the adjudication process has been met with overwhelming speculation from some quarters within our society about alleged plans of the government to engage in wholesale deportations of Zimbabweans.
“However, those who have failed to take advantage of this process will indeed in due course, face the full consequence of South Africa’s immigration laws once the process is finalised.
“Accordingly, we wish to place on record that no such plans to engage in mass deportation of Zimbabweans is on the agenda of the South African government.
“The government is bound by domestic laws and is a signatory to various international protocols and conventions, which regulate the conduct of the government in dealing with illegal immigrants”, he said.
“Of these, the department still faces logistical challenges of mobilising all outstanding applicants to approach our offices to have their biometrical details such as fingerprints taken to enable the department to finalise their applications.
“On the other hand, some applicants are still awaiting travel documents to be issued out by the Zimbabwean authorities.”
Online Reporter