Former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president, Peter Mutasa says the recent deportation of more than 85 000 Zimbabweans from South Africa was avoidable if the country had strong labour unions.
Thousands of Zimbabweans flock into neighbouring South Africa and Botswana in search of jobs and better lives but recently, the former has been deporting Zimbabweans without permits.
Mutasa said South Africa should have heeded calls by labour unions and civil rights groups to intervene in the political situation in Zimbabwe.
“We have been talking about these issues as labour, as human rights activists that SADC and AU have to take a progressive and practical position on Zimbabwe crisis, we have got a crisis. SADC has to resolve this crisis before it degenerates and now it has degenerated. So SADC, South Africa and other Africa countries have to agree that Zimbabwe has got a crisis,” Mutasa said.
He further stated that the situation in Zimbabwe does not need South Africa to deport Zimbabweans back to their country as ii is food insecure.
“This problem has now caused humanitarian crisis it is not enough for South Africans to just push Zimbabweans back where they cannot get livelihoods and to where they can starve, 61 per cent in here are food insecure so all those people are looking for food,” Mutasa further added.
Political analyst Wurayayi Zembe says undocumented Zimbabweans flocking into South Africa is confirmation that the Emmerson Mnangagwa government has failed. He said:
“That’s a symptom of the failure to govern ZANU PF government in Zimbabwe, it has been failing to provide Zimbabweans with jobs. Jobs are a basic need of Zimbabweans so that they can earn their legitimate lives,” he said.
