News

Zimbabwe Constitution Panel Seeks to Boost Youth Participation In Outreach

The outreach process has been hampered in recent weeks by financial
difficulties, with key donors like the United Nations Development Program
said to be expressing concern about spending

Patience Rusere & Brenda Moyo | Washington DC 03 September 2010

Zimbabwe's Parliamentary Select Committee for Revision of the Constitution
has reached agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund on funding to
boost youth involvement in the public outreach phase of the process, though
this will be concluded within the next several weeks.

Read more: Zimbabwe Constitution Panel Seeks to Boost Youth Participation In Outreach

Govt to meet over Zim dispensation row

http://www.mg.co.za/

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Sep 05 2010 13:27

An urgent meeting to discuss the documentation of Zimbabweans living in South Africa has been planned for this week, Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said on Sunday.

He said details of the meeting with representatives of Zimbabwean nationals living in SA would be released in due course.

"The meeting will be held this week. Since the announcement by the Cabinet to document Zimbabweans living SA, there had been a great deal of distortion and misinformation particularly from NGO's and [so-called] immigration expert, aimed at sowing confusion among Zimbabweans in the country," he said.

Read more: Govt to meet over Zim dispensation row

Immigration: Special deal for Zimbabwe migrants to end

Immigration: Special deal for Zimbabwe migrants to end
A special deal granted to thousands of Zimbabweans, who were allowed to enter SA without documents, will stop at the end of year, a Cabinet spokesperson said yesterday. A report on the Mail & Guardian Online report says the special dispensation was introduced in April last year during political instability in Zimbabwe, where an economic meltdown blamed on President Robert Mugabe's policies saw hundreds of thousands flee to SA. ‘After the 31st of December all undocumented Zimbabweans will be treated like all others and their deportation will resume,’ spokesperson Themba Maseko said. Another report on the Mail & Guardian Online report quotes refugee rights organisation, Passop, which said Cabinet’s decision to resume deportations of Zimbabweans was tantamount to a death sentence.
First Mail & Guardian Online report
Second Mail & Guardian Online report

The decision is a ‘kick between the legs’ for Zimbabweans, according to Gabriel Sumba, of the Zimbabwe Exiles’ Forum, in a report in Beeld. ‘It is a kick between the legs for every Zimbabwean who brought his skills to SA and helped build the stadiums and roads for the World Cup,’ he said, adding they had been talking to Home Affairs as recently as last week and that nothing of this sort had been discussed. ‘We talked about the 300 000 pending asylum applications. Only 70 000 have been approved. Their excuse was the public service strikes.’

Special deal for Zimbabweans to end

02 September 2010 - 15:45
By Judith Subban

Steps by the government to end the special dispensation for Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa has been met with criticism.

Earlier today, cabinet announced that a proposal to end the dispensation on 31 December, has been approved.

This means that all Zimbabweans, who do not have legal documentation by then, will be deported.

Cabinet said the move follows an agreement between home affairs ministers in both countries.

The dispensation was introduced last year to allow free movement during the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Exiles’ Forum has slammed the move to do away with it.

Spokesperson, Gabriel Shumba says he does not believe that calm has been restored across the border.

"We are going to see more Zimbabweans coming into South Africa in the next few months because the infrastructure of violence that precedes every election in Zimbabwe has already been set up. People have already been beaten up and they elections are next year."