Gayton McKenzie, the leader of the Patriotic Alliance, has voiced his criticism of Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi for extending the validity of Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP) for an additional six months. McKenzie accused the Minister of compromising the fight against illegal immigration and urged Zimbabwean nationals to return to their home country.
McKenzie remarked, “Minister Aaron Motsoaledi sold out the fight against illegal immigration. One moment he goes to court, and the next moment he extends the validity of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits by another six months, with the new deadline set for December 31st. Let them go home.”
Initially, thousands of Zimbabweans faced potential deportation as the ZEP was due to expire at the end of this month. However, the Minister’s decision was based on significant developments, including the approval of numerous waiver applications for Zimbabwean nationals and a notable increase in the daily number of visa and waiver applications received by VFS Global. In response to the situation, the Minister has deployed additional officials to aid in the efficient processing of these applications.
The Minister’s Immigration Directive, numbered as Directive no: 2 of 2023, extending the validity of Zimbabwean exemption permits for an additional six months, was officially published in the Extraordinary Government Gazette on Thursday, June 8th, 2023. The Minister has called upon all relevant parties to take the Directive into consideration during their decision-making processes. Furthermore, he intends to request the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation to issue a note verbale, drawing the attention of the Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe to this Directive.
