June 28. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The South African Minister of the Interior, Aaron Motsoaledi, has criticized NGOs, especially the Helen Suzman Foundation for their lawsuit against the Executive, in the face of the crisis unleashed in the country by the decision not to extend the exemptions granted to Zimbabwean citizens .
Some 180,000 citizens from Zimbabwe who have Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs) to live and work in South Africa are facing uncertainty due to the decision not to renew these permits, taken earlier this year by the Home Department. Given this measure, the Foundation sued the Executive for a decision that it considered “harmful.”
On June 15, the NGO assured in a statement that these people are subjected to a “desperate choice”, which is to “remain in South Africa as undocumented migrants with all the vulnerability that is attributed to such a condition or return to a Zimbabwe which, for all intents and purposes, has not changed from the country they fled.
“There is a disturbing and growing tendency on the part of some NGOs to sabotage government decisions using the courts. This development must be nipped in the bud as soon as possible,” the South African minister said in a statement on Tuesday.
Thus, he stressed that the country “is now under the dictatorship of some of the NGOs, some of which have anonymous and dubious financiers.” “His ultimate goal is to help topple the government in power by any means available,” he added.
Last November, the South African Cabinet announced that the ZEPs would be canceled before December 31, 2021 and, although they indicated that no more permits would be issued, those that did have them currently in force would have a twelve-month moratorium. to regularize their situation.
Since 2009, the South African government has been issuing special permits to citizens of the neighboring country in an attempt by the authorities to regularize the situation of thousands of people fleeing the political and economic crisis.
The Home Secretary at the time, Malusi Gigaba, said in 2009 that it was a “significant gesture of support and solidarity” with the citizens of Zimbabwe. During the time the measure was active, a total of 295,000 Zimbabweans applied for the permit.
According to official data provided by the Ministry of the Interior, there are currently a total of 178,412 Zimbabweans registered with exemptions, as reported by the News24 news portal.
Add Comment