President of Patriotic Alliance, Gayton McKenzie has come down heavily on the Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, for taking the decision to extend the validity of Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) by a further six months.
The Minister had announced in December 2021 that the ZEP would not be renewed.
“Minister Aaron Motsoaledi sold out the fight against illegal immigration, the one moment he goes to court, the next moment he extends the validity of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits by another six months, with the period now ending on the 31st of December. Let them go home,” McKenzie wrote on twitter.
The revised six-month extension period starts on 30 June and ends on 31 December 2023.
According to Motsoaledi, the extension is to allow the holders of ZEPs to apply for other types of visas and waivers provided for in the Immigration Act.
He said during the six-month period, no holder of a valid exemption permit may be arrested, ordered to depart or be detained for purposes of deportation or deported in terms of section 34 of the Immigration Act for any reason related to them not having any valid exemption certificate in their passport.
The minister added that the holder of a valid exemption permit may be allowed to enter into or depart from the Republic of South Africa, in terms of section 9 of the Act, read together with the Immigration Regulations, 2014, provided they comply with all other requirements for entry into and departure from the country.
The Department of Home Affairs recently approved thousands of waiver applications of affected Zimbabwean nationals.
The first Zimbabwean special dispensation started in 2009 and was called the Dispensation for Zimbabwe Permit.
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