Meanwhile Sapa/AFP reports that the government is getting much tougher on foreign workers than before. A German doctor waiting six months for the processing of her residence permit was banned from returning to South Africa for five years for overstaying her tourist visa. A Briton was stranded in London, separated from her husband and 18-month-old child, after being declared an undesirable immigrant for a similar reason.
There are even fears the new rules will hit the tourist industry with some immigration consultants lodging court cases challenging the laws, which they say are unconstitutional.
Haniff Hoosen, an opposition Democratic Alliance lawmaker, said “the new regulations have already ripped apart families, dissuaded investors, and led to the suspension and cancellation of multi-million rand film and tourism ventures.”
Most far-reaching, says Sapa, may be felt by the more than a quarter-of-a-million Zimbabweans who fled the political and economic crisis at home after disputed elections in 2008. They were granted special permits that expire later this year.
According to the new laws, if they want to continue living in South Africa they will have to return home to apply for extensions. “Sending 250,000 back just to extend their permits doesn’t make sense,” says Bernard Toyambi, the paralegal officer of the non-governmental organisation the People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty.
“How will they keep their jobs? How long does the process take?”
The worst fear is mass deportations if no special political deal is secured. “It’s like they’re chasing us out, they’re killing us,” Sascha Madipa, 28, a Zimbabwean immigrant in Johannesburg told Sapa.
South Africa has promised to take a decision on the status of the Zimbabweans, with immigration chief Apleni Mkuseni saying they should “wait patiently and with no panic”. But new South African Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba signalled a less sympathetic stance. “Workers from other countries, and I dare say Zimbabwe, have flocked to South Africa seeking asylum. We must ask: Is there a conflict in Zimbabwe which necessitates that Zimbabwean nationals must apply for asylum in South Africa?”
And while Mad Bob Mouabe rules in Zimbabwe it is unlikely that the economy will grow or expats develop the urge to return home. I crisis is looming.
