HARARE – The Zimbabwean government has assured that it is adequately prepared to receive a large number of citizens from South Africa who were affected by the initial termination of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).
The returnees, according to the government, will be included in the current grain distribution program, which is designed to alleviate the effects of the drought.
While the Johannesburg Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has since nullified the Minister of Home Affairs’ decision to terminate the ZEP under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA), Harare, in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration, has established inter-ministerial committees to facilitate the return and reintegration of ZEP holders.
In a response to a question posed by opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) MP Mutsa Murombedzi in Parliament, Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mercy Dinha revealed that renovations are currently underway at the Beitbridge and Plumtree reception and support centers, which will serve as admission points for returnees before they are reintegrated into their communities of origin.
Dinha said the government’s capacity to handle a large influx of returnees has been demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when hundreds of thousands of citizens were successfully received and reintegrated.
“My Ministry is finalising the renovations of the Beitbridge and Plumtree reception in support centres respectively, where returnees will be admitted and then reintegrated back into the communities where they came from,” she said.
“Our capability is to handle any number of our returning citizens cannot be doubted as evidenced by our acquittal during the Covid-19 pandemic where hundreds of thousands of returning citizens were successfully received and reintegrated back into the country.”
In light of the current El Nino induced drought situation, Murombedzi raised concerns about the provision of food and starter packs for the returnees.
Dinha assured that the returnees will be considered for inclusion in the grain distribution program, given their vulnerable status upon returning home.
“After receiving the returnees and then reintegrating them into their communities as it is time for the distribution of grains because there is drought, I think they would be considered into that programme since they will be coming home and they will be vulnerable,” the Deputy Minister stated.
In June, this year, a South African ConCourt upheld a landmark decision confirming the right to fair administrative action for ZEP holders.
The ruling came after a challenge by the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA) against the Minister of Home Affairs’ decision to terminate the ZEP.
The Pretoria High Court had initially ruled in favour of the applicants, finding the Minister’s decision procedurally unfair and unconstitutional, affecting approximately 178,000 Zimbabwean nationals.
The court ordered the Minister to conduct a fair process considering the views and interests of ZEP holders and the broader society.
Despite attempts to appeal, the ConCourt dismissed the Minister’s application for special leave to appeal, finding it had no reasonable prospects of success.
The ZEP arrangement was ordered to remain effective until November 29, 2025.
