IN the aftermath of the Christmas and New Year holidays, thousands of Zimbabweans are trekking back, both legally and illegally, into South Africa where they reside and work.
South Africa is host to an estimated two million Zimbabweans, who are seeking better economic fortunes there.
From January 1 to January 4, more that 10,000 Zimbabweans have officially passed through Beitbridge Border Post, which is the only road entry into South Africa and the busiest port in the Southern African region at present.
Authorities estimate that 20,000 might have entered through illegal means during the same period, South African broadcaster Newsroom Afrika reported Saturday in a story tracking the process.
Zimbabweans have been migrating to South Africa for greener pastures, fleeing the country’s tanking economy amid an escalating socio-economic and political crisis.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than half of Zimbabweans living in South Africa entered without proper documentation, a situation which is being influenced by the high cost of acquiring proper documentation back home.
For one to get a passport in Zimbabwe, he needs US$150, which is way too costly considering that the average Zimbabwean earns between US$150 and $300.
For some migrating Zimbabweans going back to South Africa as illegal immigrants, it is a better risk to take than to stay back in the country where the unemployment rate is high.
“It’s better to go and suffer in South Africa running away from the authorities because we don’t have proper immigrant documents that to suffer in this country which has no job opportunities for us as the youths.
“I moved to South Africa early last year and there is little progress in my life than the past three years l was home searching for employment ever since l graduated in 2019,” one illegal Zimbabwean migrant to South Africa told NewZimbabwe.com on condition of anonymity.
Working in the neighbouring country is tough for Zimbabwean migrants as the host government is on a move to deal with illegal migration, which is believed to have fuelled high crime rates and unemployment in the rainbow nation.
Just last year, the South African Home Affairs re-established the Immigration Advisory Board, which is now inspecting the employment of undocumented migrants.
Other than the above-mentioned duty, the board will also help with court consultation on the future of Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP), which are set to be terminated in November this year
ZEP was a special waiver of documentation established in 2009 for Zimbabwean migrants with documents to get employed and even run businesses in South Africa. However, a rise in unemployment for South African citizens has pushed its government to terminate the service.
Currently, if an undocumented migrant is arrested in South Africa, he or she is sentenced to six months in prison or by luck and chance deported back to his nation.
