HARARE – South Africa will in December resume deporting undocumented Zimbabweans, ending an 18-month moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants from its struggling northern neighbour, officials said on Thursday.

The moratorium on deportations was first implemented in April 2009 in an attempt to regulate the stay of Zimbabweans in South Africa, thousands of whom continue to flock to their more prosperous neghbour in search for jobs and better living conditions.

South African government spokesman Themba Maseko said the special dispensation for Zimbabweans would be scrapped on December 31.

"After the 31st of December all undocumented Zimbabweans will be treated like all others and their deportation will resume," said Maseko.

He said Zimbabweans already working, engaged in business or studying in South Africa will be issued with relevant permits on condition they produce valid documents to show they are citizens of Zimbabwe.

Maseko said a joint monitoring and evaluation committee set up by Harare and Pretoria will work to ensure that deserving Zimbabweans have necessary documents to allow them to stay in South Africa.

But one of the key organisations that work to defend the rights of foreign immigrants in South Africa criticised the move to resume deportations saying it will spark a witch-hunt against Zimbabweans by state immigration officials and that it could also fuel xenophobia against foreigners.

The People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) group said: "Attempts, like what we saw in 2008, to arrest and deport Zimbabweans will likely lead to an outbreak of xenophobic violence.

"We believe that the large number of deportations and the proceeding "witch hunt" of foreign nationals by the national immigration branch and South African police were a major factor in creating the conditions that lead to the culture of xenophobia that haunts us today."

The group said it hopes to meet with the department of home affairs to discuss its unhappiness with the deportation plan and to ensure that the rights of Zimbabweans were protected.

South Africa, which has Africa's most prosperous economy, is home to millions of foreign nationals, many of them living illegally and seeking better opportunities from failed economies like northern neighbour Zimbabwe.

There no exact figures of how many Zimbabwean live in South Africa but estimates put the figure at anything above two million or above a sixth of Zimbabwe's total population of 12 million people.

Locals often complain that the immigrants steal their jobs or lower working standards by readily accepting below market wages, while also overloading government social services.

An outbreak of xenophobic violence in 2008 left at least 62 foreigners dead and thousands of others displaced, leaving foreign investors unsettled and South Africa's image as one of the more tolerant countries in the world shattered.

Similar xenophobic attacks broke out soon after the end of the FIFA World Cup ended last July but security forces were this time round quick to move in to quash the violence and protect foreigners. – ZimOnline.

Bloody xeno's!!!!

morpheus24:

Bloody xeno's!!!!

And what are you going to do about it? Cancelling your boat trip?

^^^lmao

Ah this fictional 4 000 000million Zimbos in SA again lol!

Wander how many will actually be trooped out!