By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits by six months to 30 June next year.
The initial expiry date for the permits was 31 December.
On Friday, home affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the minister acted on the recommendation of the advisory committee led by Dr Cassius Lubusi.
Qoza said the minister considered the department had received very few applications by Zimbabwean nationals for ordinary visas so far.
The department made submissions in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that only 6 000 out of the 178 000 permit holders had made representations about why the department should not terminate their permits.
Qoza said there would be no further extensions after June.
“The minister is committed to affording the affected Zimbabwean nationals another opportunity to apply for one of the other visas or waivers provided in the Immigration Act,” he said.
Motsoaledi said the extension meant that no permit holders may be arrested, detained, or deported.
Meanwhile Home Affairs says it is working on a host of measures to escalate its “war on long queues”, with some already being put in place.
Responding in several written parliamentary Q&As this week, Motsoaledi said that the department’s recently launched Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) has already proved successful, with over 117,000 clients making use of the system since its launch in June.
The system is also proving to be a deterrent to the trend of unscrupulous individuals exploiting queue times by standing in line early and then selling their spot to other Home Affairs visitors, he said.
Despite the progress made, however, Motsoaledi said more is being done to make Home Affairs services more accessible and more convenient.