Thousands of Zimbabweans living in South Africa face an uncertain future and possible deportation before their work permits expire in June 2023 after the local government announced last year there would be no extension.
The Zimbabwe Exemption License Holders Association (ZEPHA) says the number of license holders is around 160,000, but each person has an average of three to four dependents, effectively putting the number affected at nearly two million Zimbabweans.
The hospitality industry is one of the largest employers of ZEP graduates in the country.
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In a statement, the Federal Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA), the sector’s largest union, said failure to renew licenses would have negative consequences for the sector and would “inflict trauma and pain on the people whose only sin it was legally seek a better life for themselves and their families.”
Around 2008, thousands of Zimbabweans immigrated to South Africa in search of better opportunities due to economic problems in their native country.
Thousands of supporters of the main opposition party, the MDC, said their lives were in danger because they voted against Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party – which has been in power since independence in 1980 – and sought asylum in the country.
