Southern Africa: No progress or clarity on SA permits for Zimbabweans

Last week South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula raised the hopes of millions of Zimbabweans living in that country after suggesting her government might consider granting them temporary residence permits. In what many said was a tacit admission Zimbabwe’s crisis has gone out of hand, Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters the government needed to adopt a new approach to deal with Zimbabwean citizens flocking into South Africa. She said deportations were a waste of money as people were going back within days of being kicked out of the country.