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.
1.5 million Zimbabweans in SA
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 SMSes 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. (from News24)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Immigrants defy threats to trade in Soweto
Bangladeshi immigrant Hashim Abdullah peers behind the thick iron bars of the security barrier between himself and his customers at his shop in Soweto, South Africa's most famous township.
Abdullah, like many foreign shopkeepers in Soweto, has fortified his shop following renewed threats to drive immigrant business owners out, particularly Somalis, Pakistanis and Ethiopians.
In May he closed his shop for 10 days after a local small business group accused him of weaning away its customers.
Dozens of shops belonging to foreigners across the sprawling township also closed down, some looted and vandalised over the last two months, in anti-foreigner threats concentrated in areas around Joburg, Cape Town and in the Eastern Cape province.
“We are not entirely safe here, some people want us out but not everyone wants us to go,” said Abdullah.
Abdullah's roadside shop - housed in a derelict building and stocked with basic necessities like soap, rice, bread and soft drinks -resembles a fortress, save for two arcade games often occupied by children.
Customers slip money through a small gap between the bars and he walks to the shelves to collect the goods to be purchased.
“It is better this way because it is hard to tell who is here to cause harm or not,” he said.
Despite the hard conditions, the 42-year-old arrived in South Africa three years ago said he had no intention of abandoning his business. Instead he is planning to expand.
“This is the city of gold. People have more money here that is why I don't want to give up,” said Abdullah, who had previously owned a shop in rural Queenstown in the Eastern Cape.
Anti-immigrant tensions in South African townships have been simmering since the wave of the 2008 xenophobic violence that left some 62 people dead.
The leader of the Greater Gauteng Business Forum chairperson, Makhosana Mhlanga, a group that is calling for the expulsion of immigrants, told AFP that Soweto was out of bounds to people from outside the country.
“We don't want them in our townships, they are invading our space and taking away opportunities that should be used by local people,” said Mhlanga.
The newly formed forum is also accusing the shopkeepers of selling goods at low prices, in an attempt to frustrate their competitors. They have sent homemade “eviction notices” telling foreigners to close shop, raising tensions in the township.
Not everyone in the community agrees with him. Some welcome the foreign-owned shops, which tend to open early and close late - unlike many South African stores.
“I am against the idea of chasing the foreigners out. Their shops are close to us and you can easily walk to them when you ran out of something,” said Soweto resident Portia Selote.
One group of South Africans even staged a pro-immigrant march last march, chanting “We want the Somalis to stay” - because they said Somalis offered lower prices.
Amir Sheikh, secretary general of the Somali Community Board, admitted that his community members were trading under difficult conditions in townships.
In May a Somali shopkeeper was killed in his shop in Khayelitsha outside Cape Town, and there had been similar killings in townships around the country, according to Sheik.
But it's hard to ascribe motives to isolated incidents in a country where violent crime is alarming common, with an average 46 killings a day.
“The killings are brutal and worrying,” said Sheikh adding that he did not believe that the recent threats were fuelled by xenophobia but jealousy.
“The communities that we work with have no problems with us, it is a small group of people calling themselves business people who are jealous of us,” said Sheik. (from IOL)‘Xenophobic’ committee head lashed
Opposition MPs and Parliament guests were shocked as the chairwoman of the parliamentary oversight committee on home affairs, Maggie Maunye, implied that foreigners flocking to the country were soaking up resources and preventing South Africans from enjoying their freedom.
Maunye made the remarks on Wednesday at the conclusion of a briefing of her committee by Home Affairs officials. The delegation included deputy home affairs minister Fatima Chohan, and had dealt with the issue of refugee reception centres.
Maunye suggested South Africa should turn away foreigners, as Spain had chosen to do, and questioned human rights laws and the constitution, which she said were used as an excuse to accommodate foreigners.
“Really, this intake, for how long are we going to continue with this as South Africans?” Maunye asked. “Is it not going to affect our resources, the economy of the country?”
She continued: “I think that as the portfolio committee, we need to sit down and discuss this openly; on how long are we going to continue with the intake without the support of other countries.
“You know, we see on TV Spain turning refugees back to their countries, and here you will be told of human rights laws; you know the constitution is against that and all sorts of excuses, and here we have people who are living in poverty daily, people who are unemployed.
“We’ve never enjoyed our freedom as South Africans. We got it in 1994 and we had floods and floods of refugees or undocumented people in the country, and we always want to play as if no there’s nothing like that.”
She said that apart from refugees, there were also “wrong people” who entered the country, such as the “Rwanda war criminal person… and they are all here”.
“What are we saying about them? We let all these war criminals come to the country. When we are supposed to tell them to go back, we are told that we’re violating human rights laws and all that.”
Maunye added that it was important “that we become cool-headed and sober and decide how to deal with this”.
Maunye tried to backtrack on her comments after a rebuke from the DA.
DA MP Annette Lovemore distanced herself and her party from the tirade, saying such statements were a foundation for xenophobic attacks on foreigners.
Raising a point of order, Lovemore said she was very disturbed by Maunye’s remarks and by associating “ourselves (committee members) with what you are saying”.
“That’s exactly the kind of attitude… that is causing the new wave of xenophobic attacks that is happening right now and (that) NGOs are warning is going to escalate…
“We cannot as a portfolio committee be saying that we don’t want people from outside South African borders here.”
Attempting an about-turn, Maunye said: “I am saying since 1994 we have had an influx of people coming to the country. I said documented and undocumented people, and also that it impacts on our economy.”
She referred to documents dating back to 2008 that detailed how much the country, including banks and insurance companies, were losing through corruption because of fraudulent ID documents.
“I am not saying people must not come to the country,” Maunye said.
“People must come to the country with proper documents.”
– The Star
Maunye made the remarks on Wednesday at the conclusion of a briefing of her committee by Home Affairs officials. The delegation included deputy home affairs minister Fatima Chohan, and had dealt with the issue of refugee reception centres.
Maunye suggested South Africa should turn away foreigners, as Spain had chosen to do, and questioned human rights laws and the constitution, which she said were used as an excuse to accommodate foreigners.
“Really, this intake, for how long are we going to continue with this as South Africans?” Maunye asked. “Is it not going to affect our resources, the economy of the country?”
She continued: “I think that as the portfolio committee, we need to sit down and discuss this openly; on how long are we going to continue with the intake without the support of other countries.
“You know, we see on TV Spain turning refugees back to their countries, and here you will be told of human rights laws; you know the constitution is against that and all sorts of excuses, and here we have people who are living in poverty daily, people who are unemployed.
“We’ve never enjoyed our freedom as South Africans. We got it in 1994 and we had floods and floods of refugees or undocumented people in the country, and we always want to play as if no there’s nothing like that.”
She said that apart from refugees, there were also “wrong people” who entered the country, such as the “Rwanda war criminal person… and they are all here”.
“What are we saying about them? We let all these war criminals come to the country. When we are supposed to tell them to go back, we are told that we’re violating human rights laws and all that.”
Maunye added that it was important “that we become cool-headed and sober and decide how to deal with this”.
Maunye tried to backtrack on her comments after a rebuke from the DA.
DA MP Annette Lovemore distanced herself and her party from the tirade, saying such statements were a foundation for xenophobic attacks on foreigners.
Raising a point of order, Lovemore said she was very disturbed by Maunye’s remarks and by associating “ourselves (committee members) with what you are saying”.
“That’s exactly the kind of attitude… that is causing the new wave of xenophobic attacks that is happening right now and (that) NGOs are warning is going to escalate…
“We cannot as a portfolio committee be saying that we don’t want people from outside South African borders here.”
Attempting an about-turn, Maunye said: “I am saying since 1994 we have had an influx of people coming to the country. I said documented and undocumented people, and also that it impacts on our economy.”
She referred to documents dating back to 2008 that detailed how much the country, including banks and insurance companies, were losing through corruption because of fraudulent ID documents.
“I am not saying people must not come to the country,” Maunye said.
“People must come to the country with proper documents.”
– The Star
Permits issued to more than 130 000 Zim migrants
A total of 133 331 permits have been issued to Zimbabweans enabling them to legally remain in the country, the home affairs department said on Thursday.
However, not all the applicants had collected their permits, head of the Zimbabwe Document Project, Jacob Mamabolo, said at a briefing on the status of the amnesty project in Pretoria.
"The figure includes those who applied for amnesty...Issuing does not mean they are collected."
Mamabolo said that despite SMS' being sent to those people who had not yet collected their documents, some still remained at the department.
Other Zimbabweans still needed to submit further documentation and to 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," he said.
The December 31, 2010 deadline saw 275 762 Zimbabwean nationals registering to legalise their residency in the country.
Mamabolo said his department had adjudicated 263 141 applications. A total of 12 621 were still outstanding.
He said the department would meet the July deadline to conclude the documentation process, after which they 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."
However, not all the applicants had collected their permits, head of the Zimbabwe Document Project, Jacob Mamabolo, said at a briefing on the status of the amnesty project in Pretoria.
"The figure includes those who applied for amnesty...Issuing does not mean they are collected."
Mamabolo said that despite SMS' being sent to those people who had not yet collected their documents, some still remained at the department.
Other Zimbabweans still needed to submit further documentation and to 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," he said.
The December 31, 2010 deadline saw 275 762 Zimbabwean nationals registering to legalise their residency in the country.
Mamabolo said his department had adjudicated 263 141 applications. A total of 12 621 were still outstanding.
He said the department would meet the July deadline to conclude the documentation process, after which they 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."
- Sapa
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Government in denial about xenophobia: report
The government is in denial about xenophobia, says an independent peer review report released on Tuesday.
“The evaluating group felt that the South African government is not doing enough to address the issue of xenophobia and pointed out that there is even an element of denialism on behalf of some officials,” says the report, titled, “Implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Views from Civil Society”.
It was released by the APRM Monitoring Project (AMP) to the Pan African Parliament on Tuesday.
The AMP is run jointly by the SA Institute of International Affairs, the Centre for Policy Studies and the Africa Governance, Monitoring and Advocacy Project.
South Africa's last peer review report, called the South African Implementation Report II (SAIR II), in January 2011, did not pay enough attention to xenophobia, says the document released on Tuesday.
“It is noteworthy that SAIR II devotes a whole section to xenophobia, which introduces further responses from government to xenophobia and acknowledges the role of civil society in taking a lead on the issue.
“However, it is poorly written with inadvertent repetition and was clearly assembled in a hurry.”
A wave of violence against foreigners swept through South Africa in May 2008, leaving at least 67 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
Since then, several reports of pockets of violence against foreigners in different parts of the country have surfaced in the media.
The report gives South Africa's dealing with xenophobia a red rating, which means “no progress has been achieved on addressing the issue; or very little progress has been achieved and the government does not seem to be on track to complete it in the near future”.
On racism, South Africa receives an orange rating Ä slightly better than red.
“The evaluating group noted with concern some of the rhetoric from politicians seemingly aimed at increasing racial divisions that preceded the 18 May 2011 municipal elections.
“However, given the country’s past, the group also noted that apart from isolated incidences of racism, South Africa needs to be given credit for the way the society has moved on. Nevertheless, although much progress has been achieved, many issues remain, hence an orange rating,” says the report.
African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema called white people criminals and accused them of stealing land shortly before the municipal elections.
- Sapa
“The evaluating group felt that the South African government is not doing enough to address the issue of xenophobia and pointed out that there is even an element of denialism on behalf of some officials,” says the report, titled, “Implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Views from Civil Society”.
It was released by the APRM Monitoring Project (AMP) to the Pan African Parliament on Tuesday.
The AMP is run jointly by the SA Institute of International Affairs, the Centre for Policy Studies and the Africa Governance, Monitoring and Advocacy Project.
South Africa's last peer review report, called the South African Implementation Report II (SAIR II), in January 2011, did not pay enough attention to xenophobia, says the document released on Tuesday.
“It is noteworthy that SAIR II devotes a whole section to xenophobia, which introduces further responses from government to xenophobia and acknowledges the role of civil society in taking a lead on the issue.
“However, it is poorly written with inadvertent repetition and was clearly assembled in a hurry.”
A wave of violence against foreigners swept through South Africa in May 2008, leaving at least 67 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
Since then, several reports of pockets of violence against foreigners in different parts of the country have surfaced in the media.
The report gives South Africa's dealing with xenophobia a red rating, which means “no progress has been achieved on addressing the issue; or very little progress has been achieved and the government does not seem to be on track to complete it in the near future”.
On racism, South Africa receives an orange rating Ä slightly better than red.
“The evaluating group noted with concern some of the rhetoric from politicians seemingly aimed at increasing racial divisions that preceded the 18 May 2011 municipal elections.
“However, given the country’s past, the group also noted that apart from isolated incidences of racism, South Africa needs to be given credit for the way the society has moved on. Nevertheless, although much progress has been achieved, many issues remain, hence an orange rating,” says the report.
African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema called white people criminals and accused them of stealing land shortly before the municipal elections.
- Sapa
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Xenophobia flames up in Limpopo
Thousands of Zimbabweans living in a township outside Polokwane, Limpopo, fled last week following the most serious wave of xenophobic violence to hit South Africa in recent months.
The purge included the killing of Zimbabwean Godfrey Sibanda, who was cornered by a mob and stoned to death on Monday night in Extension 75 of Seshoga township, northwest of Polokwane, while walking home from work.
Six RDP houses in Extension 71 which had been rented to Zimbabweans were also torched by large mobs.
More than 3 000 other Zimbabweans fled to hide in nearby bushes.
Sibanda was accused of raping a five-year-old girl and for being behind other criminal acts in the area, which included the murder of a couple last week and robbing a security guard.
The police said they had heard of the incidents, but had no record of these alleged crimes being reported to them.
The day after Sibanda was killed, more Zimbabweans were attacked and evicted from their homes by locals who dumped their blankets, bags and other belongings on the street.
Those who escaped unharmed were being sheltered at the Seshego police station with their families. They said that more than 3 000 of their fellow countrymen were displaced.
They were scared to go to the police because they thought the police were working with the community, said Christopher Manyanhaire, 27.
He was evicted from his home with his sister, three-year-old nephew and brother-in-law.
He said that the mob caught his sister, Locadia, after she tried to escape through the window.
"They were at the door trying to kick it down but I was holding it while my sister tried to escape, but they caught her and beat her until the police arrived,” he said.
Manyanhaire, whose family was among those at Seshego police station, said locals had complained about Zimbabweans getting state houses cheaply from owners who rented them out.
“They have no right to be living in an RDP house because it’s for us South Africans,” said Paulina Makokwane, a South African whose house is surrounded by three Zimbabwean-occupied houses that were torched on Tuesday.
House-to-house search
On Tuesday evening, City Press witnessed a group of close to 200 people going from house-to-house looking for Zimbabweans.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said one person was arrested for arson and they were still investigating the murder case.
Fungai Chingorivo, who was part of the evicted group at the police station, said she and her husband had lost everything they had worked for since coming to South Africa in 2008.
“We don’t know what to do now. We have no money and going back home to Zimbabwe empty-handed is pointless because our children and families are suffering,” she said.
By Thursday morning, there were 20 displaced families at the police station with some of their belongings which they had managed to save.
More were expected to arrive and the police have called in local disaster-management officials to help with shelter.
ANC Limpopo spokesperson David Masondo said the party was “disappointed” at what had happened and that it was symptomatic of economic stress in both Limpopo and Zimbabwe. (from IOL)
The purge included the killing of Zimbabwean Godfrey Sibanda, who was cornered by a mob and stoned to death on Monday night in Extension 75 of Seshoga township, northwest of Polokwane, while walking home from work.
Six RDP houses in Extension 71 which had been rented to Zimbabweans were also torched by large mobs.
More than 3 000 other Zimbabweans fled to hide in nearby bushes.
Sibanda was accused of raping a five-year-old girl and for being behind other criminal acts in the area, which included the murder of a couple last week and robbing a security guard.
The police said they had heard of the incidents, but had no record of these alleged crimes being reported to them.
The day after Sibanda was killed, more Zimbabweans were attacked and evicted from their homes by locals who dumped their blankets, bags and other belongings on the street.
Those who escaped unharmed were being sheltered at the Seshego police station with their families. They said that more than 3 000 of their fellow countrymen were displaced.
They were scared to go to the police because they thought the police were working with the community, said Christopher Manyanhaire, 27.
He was evicted from his home with his sister, three-year-old nephew and brother-in-law.
He said that the mob caught his sister, Locadia, after she tried to escape through the window.
"They were at the door trying to kick it down but I was holding it while my sister tried to escape, but they caught her and beat her until the police arrived,” he said.
Manyanhaire, whose family was among those at Seshego police station, said locals had complained about Zimbabweans getting state houses cheaply from owners who rented them out.
“They have no right to be living in an RDP house because it’s for us South Africans,” said Paulina Makokwane, a South African whose house is surrounded by three Zimbabwean-occupied houses that were torched on Tuesday.
House-to-house search
On Tuesday evening, City Press witnessed a group of close to 200 people going from house-to-house looking for Zimbabweans.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said one person was arrested for arson and they were still investigating the murder case.
Fungai Chingorivo, who was part of the evicted group at the police station, said she and her husband had lost everything they had worked for since coming to South Africa in 2008.
“We don’t know what to do now. We have no money and going back home to Zimbabwe empty-handed is pointless because our children and families are suffering,” she said.
By Thursday morning, there were 20 displaced families at the police station with some of their belongings which they had managed to save.
More were expected to arrive and the police have called in local disaster-management officials to help with shelter.
ANC Limpopo spokesperson David Masondo said the party was “disappointed” at what had happened and that it was symptomatic of economic stress in both Limpopo and Zimbabwe. (from IOL)
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