Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the media. I am here to take your questions.
Questions and Answers:
Question: Minister, what will happen on 1 January 2010 to Zimbabweans who have not applied – will they be deported?
Answer: As you can see what visited Tirro this morning to assess the process and how it is proceeding. We also wanted to see if there are any bottlenecks we can assist in unblocking. We are now here to do the same.
What we are saying to the Zimbabweans is that it is very important for them to submit their applications with whatever identity document they have because we understand that things are a bit slow on the Zimbabwean side and passports are not being produced as quickly as required. And of course, some people at this time only have birth certificates and IDs without passports. We have asked them to apply with whatever documents they have so that they are in the system. Because on 31 December, this process of receiving applications from Zimbabweans will end and this is definite.No one should harbour any illusions that this process will be extended. There will be no extensions. The deadline is not movable.
After 31 December, as you can imagine, towards, the end of the month, we are receiving huge numbers of applications. In the Tirro office for instance, since last week, they have not received less than 800 per day. So it means that on 1 January 2011 we will now begin working in the back offices to process these applications. So, the process will not end. But the receipt of applications ends on 31 December 2010.
Then we begin working in the back office and process the applications. Depending on the number of applications, and the number of queries, the process will continue until we have completed all the applications. Only then, once we have processed every application and we know that anyone who has tried to be legalised has been documented, then we will begin, if there are people who did not apply and are not in any of our processes, then those will be in South Africa illegally. We cannot put a date to this process because we do not know how many applications we would have received by the end of December 2010. And we do not know how complete these will be. As I have said to you, we have asked those who do not have passports to still submit their applications, attaching proof of their application for their passports. Such applications cannot be concluded until all documents have been submitted.
Because some of these factors are not within our control, it is not us who issue passports or Zimbabwean documents; we cannot put a timeframe on the conclusion of processing of applications.
Once 31 December has passed, we can go to the Zimbabweans with a list of applications still awaiting passports. We will ask them to expedite the processing of passport applications so we can conclude the process.
This is where we are and this is what will happen.
Question: Minister, so those who are illegal once the applications have been processed will face deportation?
Answer: Of course, but at a point where we have processed those who have applied because we will cause of lot of confusion if we begin before this.
Question: Minister, you have spent some time talking to officials today. Are you happy with the way in which work is being done? Because there are many complaints from those applying to have their stay legalised?
Answer: The process is going well. The officials are really doing their best. You must remember that we are doing this for the first time. And you must remember that this process began on the 8 April 2009. In reality this process should have been completed by April 2010. It should have taken a year. But people did not come forward and we know it is human nature for people to postpone these things until the last minute. We have therefore extended the process until now. We know that people wait until the last moment and then they come in huge numbers.
But I think the officials are doing their best. Of course, we can improve as we go along. And of course, we did not the extent of the volume of people who had missed the first deadline. All these people here have missed the deadline. The deadline was in April and of course, we did not know the extent of the numbers of people who had missed the deadline. So the number of people we were processing initially was relatively small compared to the numbers we see now.
But we have increased the numbers of staff in the back office and we have also split them into two shifts. Some come in the morning and end at 14h00; others come in at 14h00 and end at 22h00. These officials have to apply their minds therefore we cannot have the same people working from the morning until 22h00. This is why we have split them into two but we have doubled the numbers of officials. We have also increased the shifts because we normally only work one shift at Home Affairs except for the airport.
So indeed, there will be people who have applied some time back but have not yet been processed. But, when we saw there was a backlog accumulating, is when we implemented these measures – the two shift system and have increased the numbers of officials in the back office and adjudicating process.
And because we did not want to continue working with a backlog, we put in place a new team that looks at the current applications. That is why it is possible to have someone who has applied in October or at the beginning of November, to get their permits now but someone who have applied a week ago to also receive their permits. We did not want new applications to become part of the backlog. So we have a team looking at the current applications while others are clearing the backlog. So this is the situation.
But I also think it is unfair for people to say they are desperate to go home when they did not submit themselves to this process until they missed the deadline because in reality, (inaudible) they have missed the deadline. In fact, we undertook this process as a mopping up exercise but it turned out to be more than a mopping up exercise. So, I think it is a small sacrifice to make because your application is still being processed.
As you can see, most people in my position are now not in their offices. Many senior officials have taken time off for the holidays.But my team is not doing this. We are working, they will take a few days that are available but after the long weekend, they all have to be here. So, I think the Zimbabweans have to be fair on us, we are working and doing our best to sort out this issue and if they miss going home this Christmas, it will be a small sacrifice.
Question: Minister, could you please explain the process? You say those applying now are doing so because they have missed the first deadline.
Answer: The agreement was signed before my time, between the former Minister and the Zimbabwean Ministers. They signed it for a year. They said Zimbabweans should go to their consulate/embassy and apply for their passports. Once they received their passports, they should go to Home Affairs and apply for the relevant visa. This was the agreement signed before I became the Minister of Home Affairs.
Then came April, of course, I did not know how many people had applied or how many are in the country. So I had no way of knowing how many had not applied. So, in April I held discussions with the Zimbabwean ministers and said to them we had reached the end of this agreement but because I was not sure everyone had applied, we would implement a mopping up period. And, let’s work together to ensure no one is left out.
So, we had discussions with the Registrar-General and we had met with some Zimbabweans by then who had told us of their difficulties including the obtaining of passports. We interacted with them and established a task team. And of course we then said, ok, let us begin mopping up. We did not anticipate having to begin from scratch. After all, the process was concluded as far as the year from April 2009 to April 2010.
We then extended this to 31 December 2010.We didn’t have to but we did following our interactions with some of the Zimbabweans. So, in reality, if you want to count the period you must begin from 7 April 2009.
Question: Minister, were the documents for this process changed for the extension?
Answer: It was the normal process for the year until April 2010. What was different was that we did not deport Zimbabweans even if they did not have their permits. Perhaps this is the mistake we made because then they did not proceed with their applications. There was no deportation of Zimbabweans but they had to apply like everyone else.
When we began saying we had to mop up, in interacting with the Zimbabweans, they began raising all manner of issues which is why we changed the process a bit to accommodate the challenges outlined. Ordinarily the process would not be this flexible. You should have your passport, ID, employment (and ordinarily there are certain categories of employment we look at, but this was relaxed in the Zimbabwean case and we accepted any employment or business. We accepted any form of employment through which you could earn money and support yourself. We also accepted any study permit as well). So, yes, now that we understood some of their challenges better, we changed the process slightly. But, it is important to adhere to the deadline and we hope you will assist us in this, in putting forward this message.
Question: Minister, the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe is precarious. Are you not concerned about another influx of Zimbabweans into South Africa? What is your message to border jumpers who do not adhere to this process?
Answer: To the border jumpers – once this process has been concluded, they will be arrested, deported and not allowed back into South Africa.
In terms of the economic situation in Zimbabwe – actually the economic situation in Zimbabwe is much better than it was, even two years. Even some of the professionals who were working away have begun to return to Zimbabwe because although the economic situation is not as stable as it was before, it is still better than a few years ago. We are therefore not expecting a big flood of Zimbabweans.
We also have a visa waiver agreement with Zimbabwe, as we do with some other neighbouring countries so Zimbabweans can enter South Africa, purchase goods and return to their country without requiring visas. They can also apply for jobs in South Africa and if successful, they can apply for the relevant permits. So, there is no objective reason for them to be illegally in South Africa anymore. There was a visa requirement before and sometimes queues were very long and it took very long to be processed so people attempted to enter South Africa without documents. This is no longer the case.
In terms of Zimbabwe’s political situation and their preparations for elections, I suggest you talk to DIRCO. We are not however preparing for an influx of Zimbabweans. Zimbabweans have lots of time to prepare their documents, the borders will be open and we will be ready to process their entry to South Africa. What we do not want illegal Zimbabweans in the country.
Question: Minister, what are the numbers that have been processed thus far?
Answer: As at 17 December 2010 a total of 124 314 applications have been received, 40 092 of which have been adjudicated.
