BuaNews (Tshwane)
Janine Du Plessis
29 August 2007
Cape Town — The Department of Home Affairs is considering options to accommodate Zimbabweans in South Africa, in the light of the economic situation in the neighbouring country.
Speaking at the Governance and Administration Cluster briefing in Cape Town on Tuesday, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said issuing temporary residence permits was one of the options of accommodating the economic migrants here. However, the minister said this issue would still have to be discussed in Cabinet. Issuing such permits would also present difficulties, said the minister.
"At the moment it would be very difficult," she said, explaining that there was a backlog at the Home Affairs refugee processing centre in Marabastad, as people where applying for these documents and they did not even qualify.
"It is a humanitarian crisis but we also need to maintain our laws," said Ms Mapisa-Nqakula.
The minister said the current problems of Zimbabwe had mainly to do with the economic collapse of the country. She said only economic integration among the Southern African Development Community (SADC) could resolve the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
"The whole of SADC should take responsibility to get Zimbabwe's economy back on track," said the minister. This is in line with the recent SADC Summit's decision for an economic recovery plan to be drafted for Zimbabwe by the finance ministers of the region, in consultation with the Zimbabwean government. President Thabo Mbeki has been mandated by the regional body to facilitate talks between the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition in South Africa's northern neighbour
She reiterated that South Africa would not open refugee camps for the economic migrants despite calls from some quarters for the South African government to set up camps near Musina.
"We can't open refugee camps if they do not want it and have not requested it. We can't impose refugee status on them," said the minister. A refugee is a person who is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence, has a well founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion and unable to return home for fear of persecution.
"There is a definition of a refugee or asylum seeker," said the minister, explaining that this meant a refugee would not be able to return to their home country until the situation had been sorted out there.
Ms Mapisa-Nqakula said to have camps set up for the wellness of Zimbabweans would have a "pool effect" where people would jump the border for a plate of food. She said the system of arresting illegal immigrants was like "throwing money into a pit".
Illegal immigrants are taken to the Lindela Repatriation Centre before being deported and they are back in the country within two weeks, the minister explained. She said it should be noted that Zimbabweans were not only accessing South Africa by crossing the border illegally, many fly in via the airports and do not return home. Responding to a question regarding the potential skills Zimbabweans could bring to the public service, such as nurses and teachers, the minister said that they would gladly grant them permits to allow them to work if they could supply their qualification certificates.
"Before we can grant you a work permit you need proof of your qualifications." The minister suggested that together with the South African Qualifications Programme and the Departments of Education and Labour, an examination could be set that economic migrants could write to establish what skills they had.
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