South Africa extends moratorium on deportation to Zimbabwe to 1 August
At a stakeholders meeting on the 12th January, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Director General Mkuseli Apleni confirmed that DHA will be extending the moratorium on deportations until the end of July 2011. The moratorium will be lifted on 1 August 2011. The moratorium remains in place until this time and applies to all Zimbabweans.
DHA responded to the continued arrests and harassment of Zimbabweans by the police stating that SAPS was cooperating with the DHA and arrests were being carried out by individual recalcitrant police officials acting unlawfully.
Lawyers for Human Rights is encouraged by the decision to extend the moratorium on deportations. According to Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, head of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme, “It is a positive move from Home Affairs to extend the moratorium on deportations. We are however concerned about the continued arrests and harassment of Zimbabweans by SAPS. We would encourage Home Affairs to formally communicate this decision to extend the moratorium to the police so that we do not continue to see Zimbabweans being arrested for immigration reasons while the Zimbabwe documentation process is being finalised.”
The DG also outlined the roadmap for Zimbabwe documentation process. He announced that 38 additional adjudicators had been appointed, with each adjudicator expected to finalise approximately 60 applications per day, so that a target of 2280 permits per day are adjudicated and finalised. This would result in the adjudication process being finalised by 30 June 2011.
The DG also announced the following key dates by which certain milestones will be achieved:
· By 14 January 2011: All DHA centres should have submitted all applications to the Home Affairs Head Office in Waltloo, Pretoria.
· By 4 February 2011: All applications will be sorted by category (i.e.
Work, business or study) and applicants will be requested to submit any outstanding documents e.g. passports, fingerprints etc.
· By 30 June 2011: All permits should be adjudicated and issued to applicants through DHA centres where applications were received. This is an on-going process that has already begun and will continue until 30 June. Applicants who have been rejected will be given the opportunity to appeal within 7 - 10 days of rejection.
· By 31 July 2011: All permits should be in the hands of the successful applicants.
· The moratorium on the deportation of Zimbabweans will be lifted on 1 August 2011.
There is an appeals process for persons whose application is rejected. However rejected applicants need to lodge their appeal within 10 days of receipt of the negative decision. Any delay in lodging this appeal may affect the applicant negatively, so it is vitally important for all Zimbabweans to be aware that if they are rejected they may lodge an appeal as long as they do so within the 10 day period.
DHA confirmed that they will meet with the Zimbabwe authorities on the 17th January to discuss the issuance of passports which remains a serious challenge to the smooth running of the documentation process.