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[The drop]( Why is South Africa Shutting the Door on These Immigrants? Until recently, Tapiwa Munda made a decent living selling flowers in Johannesburg. But fears around his legal status in South Africa have led him to return to his native Zimbabwe. âIt is painful to leave a place you have heavily invested in, and to be forced back into a country you fled because of corruption, dictatorship and an economy that is regressing,â he said. A Failed Asylum System Nick Dall from Cape Town, South Africa [nickdall.co.za]( The Zimbabwean Exemption Permit was established 13 years ago as a way of allowing Zimbabwean citizens to live, work and study in South Africa without facing too much red tape. But last December it was announced that the program would end on Dec. 31, 2022. Following outcry from human rights groups and the [estimated 178,000 ZEP holders](, as well as two high court challenges to the decision, permit holders have recently been given a further six months to â[regularize their status](.â Whatever happens with the legal challenges, all of the experts OZY spoke to believe the current government, the African National Congress (ANC), has no plans to backtrack on the decision to end the program. The implications are many â both for Zimbabweans in South Africa and for the legacy of the inclusive ârainbow nationâ that Nelson Mandela strove to build. Officially, only 6,000 Zimbabweans in South Africa â or 1 in every 30 ZEP holders â have applied to stay in the country legally. It is for them that the South African government has extended the ZEP by six months. But a vast majority of ZEP holders might not even be applying for regularization. Thatâs not because they donât want to stay in South Africa but because they believe the system is loaded against them in a way that they will almost certainly not be granted papers to remain, said experts. Sharon Ekambaram, who heads the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme at[Lawyers for Human Rights](, said that, due to their low economic and educational status, the vast majority of ZEP holders know they have no hope of being âregularized.â The real problem, in her view, is that South Africa âhas a failed asylum system.â She told OZY of one office thatâs known to reject 100% of applications for refugee status. ...due to their low economic and educational status, the vast majority of ZEP holders know they have no hope of being âregularized.â - Sharon Ekambaram to their low economic and educational status, the vast majority of ZEP holders know they have no hope of being âregularized.â
Sharon Ekambaram If the ZEP is eventually discontinued, itâs likely to affect permit holders in different ways. Those with the financial means should find it relatively easy to regularize their stays in South Africa or to seek opportunities abroad. But the history of the ZEP suggests that most of its holders are, in Ekambaramâs words, âthe most vulnerable, the poorest of the poor.â These people will either be forced to return to Zimbabwe, a country whose economic prospects are even worse than South Africaâs, or stay in South Africa illegally. While ending the program is unlikely to have a major impact on South Africaâs economy, she said it could negatively affect Zimbabweâs, which is heavily reliant on remittances sent home by citizens working in other countries.
âXenophobia, Pure and Simpleâ Many experts see the ANCâs move to scrap the ZEP as part of the ruling partyâs campaign strategy ahead of general elections in 2024 where, for the first time since coming to power under Nelson Mandela in 1994, the ANC looks likely to receive less than 50% of the vote. The ANC has failed categorically to transform the lives of its poor, Black constituents. The estimated four million foreigners, including around 1.5 million Zimbabweans, who live in South Africa are an easy scapegoat. The belief that âthe foreigners are stealing your jobsâ is widespread â despite[research in 2016 showing]( that the average economic migrant to Gauteng province, for instance, actually created 2.6 jobs. âItâs xenophobia pure and simple,â said Zimbabwean-born activist Dale McKinley, co-founder of [Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia](. âWhen a governmentâs own failures become manifest they resort to xenophobic discourse,â he said. What makes the development even more disappointing is that the ANC was founded on principles of pan-Africanism â and the party was heavily dependent on the support of other African nations, including Zimbabwe, during the struggle against apartheid. Itâs xenophobia pure and simple. - Zimbabwean-born activist Dale McKinley xenophobia pure and simple.
Zimbabwean-born activist Dale McKinley In August, the health minister of Limpopo Province, Phophi Ramathuba of the ANC, was[recorded ranting at a Zimbabwean hospital patient](. âYouâre supposed to be with Mnangagwa [Zimbabweâs president],â she said. âHe doesn't give me money to operate [on] you guys. Now I must operate [on] you with my limited budget...â This despite the fact that South Africaâs[Bill of Rights]( â the brainchild of current President Cyril Ramaphosa â enshrines far-reaching rights for âall people in our country.â And in September, the[ANCâs mayor of Musina told a local government forum](: âWe must minimize the rights of immigrants and migrants. They must be made uncomfortable. What do you do if you see a cockroach in your house? You buy Doom,â he said, referring to a popular local insecticide brand. [Anti-immigrant police raids and roadblocks]( in Johannesburg, meanwhile, have resulted in thousands of foreigners being arrested since the COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted earlier this year.
The Kool-Aid As an electioneering tactic, said Ekambaram, the xenophobic rhetoric seems to be working. It has âdiverted the attention of communities away from holding [the] government to account. The people have drunk the Kool-Aid.â McKinley too told OZY that the xenophobia has âplayed well with the ANCâs constituency,â before adding that the ruling party has felt compelled to âkeep up with the opposition.â He was referring to a broader shift in South African politics. We must minimize the rights of immigrants and migrants. They must be made uncomfortable. What do you do if you see a cockroach in your house? You buy Doom. - ANC mayor of Musina must minimize the rights of immigrants and migrants. They must be made uncomfortable. What do you do if you see a cockroach in your house? You buy Doom.
ANC mayor of Musina Parties with openly xenophobic manifestos â such as Herman Mashabaâs ActionSA and Gayton McKenzieâs Patriotic Alliance â exceeded expectations in the 2021 Municipal Elections. And even the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, has âflirted with xenophobia without embracing it fully,â McKinley said. Outside of the party political system, the xenophobic tide has surged even stronger. The rise of Operation Dudula â dudula means to âforce outâ or âknock downâ in isiZulu â has embarked on illegal raids across South Africa, destroying foreign-owned businesses and, in April this year,[burning the 43-year-old Zimbabwean economic refugee Mbhodazwe Elvis Nyathi to death](. Just last month, three Zimbabweans were â[burnt beyond recognition](â in Elim near Johannesburg. While President Ramaphosa has denounced Operation Dudula participants as âvigilantes,â the ANCâs national spokesperson Pule Mabe contradicted his boss by calling the group âconstructive.â
//link.ozy.com/click/29380898.91144/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj0yaDZzOEJLRmZ1USZ0PTFzJnV0bV90ZXJtPU9aWSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZGFpbHktZG9zZSZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1TYXR1cmRheV8xMC4xNS4yMg/5cc372683f92a4331dae6934B29bf7b05 Uncertain Future But where does this leave Munda and the 178,000 other ZEP holders and their families? McKinley feels that the[legal challenge from the Helen Suzman Foundation]( â which argues that âthose who have scrupulously observed South Africaâs laws in order to live and work here under the ZEP cannot have such permits terminated without fair process, good reason and a meaningful opportunity to regularize their statusâ â has a good chance of succeeding in obtaining a further reprieve for ZEP permit holders. While Ekambaram sees the merits of the case, she fears that âgiven the current climate, the court might find it hard to rule in favor.â Regardless, neither expert sees the ZEP being allowed to continue indefinitely. And theyâre equally convinced that, as the 2024 elections approach, the ANC will continue to push the anti-foreigner rhetoric â something which, given the dire economic plight of many South Africans, could result in widespread xenophobic violence. Since 2008, occasional outbursts of deadly violence have targeted foreigners. And just last year, [354 people]( were killed in riots which, although not primarily aimed at foreigners, were clearly the result of the ANCâs failure to deliver on the promises made to poor, Black South Africans. It is painful to leave a place you have heavily invested in, and to be forced back into a country you fled because of corruption, dictatorship and an economy that is regressing. - Tapiwa Munda is painful to leave a place you have heavily invested in, and to be forced back into a country you fled because of corruption, dictatorship and an economy that is regressing.
Tapiwa Munda While many South Africans are pinning their hopes on the ANC losing its absolute majority in 2024, a coalition government âcould be even worse for migrants,â warned Ekambaram. Besides, added McKinley, the problem is not just a South African one. He said he hopes for âfundamental political changeâ in Zimbabwe and all the other African countries people are fleeing for economic or political reasons. âVery few migrants are where they want to be,â he said. âThat is a universal truth.â You may have noticed our newsletter's new look and new name. Let us know what you think! [SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS]( [TV]( | [PODCASTS]( | [NEWS]( | [FESTIVALS]( OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on âthe New and the Next.â OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. #OZYMedia, #TheDrop OZY Media, 800 West El Camino Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Read Online](