Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi Says Lesotho Special Permits Also Ending, “We Are Not Targeting”

• Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the South African government is not targeting a certain nationally
• The minister said special permits for Lesotho citizens will also expire in 2023 and will not be extended
• The Lesotho permits were meant to document Lesotho nationals who were in South Africa illegally

JOHANNESBURG - Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi plans to clamp down on all undocumented nationals. This comes after the country announced that it would do away with the Zimbabwean Exemption permit at the end of the year.

The minister said special permits for Lesotho citizens will also expire in 2023 and will not be extended. About 90 000 Basotho are believed to be living in the country.

Motsoaledi was interviewed by Bloomberg recently and said that the South African government is not targeting any nationality and that implementing sovereign laws should not be considered xenophobic. He said there are many “economic migrants” abusing the country’s asylum provisions, News24 reported.

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The minister said South Africa has long been a “magnet” for people from other countries seeking better opportunities. He said the arrivals of foreign nationals increased in 2008, as the global financial crisis and Zimbabwe’s economic collapse sparked more migrants to move to South Africa.

According to the Department of Home Affairs, the Lesotho permits were meant to document Lesotho nationals who were in the country illegally due to the socio-economic crisis in their country.

The permits also allowed nationals to work, study or do business and suspended their deportation. South Africa is home to about 4 million migrants.

South Africans react to Motsoaledi’s comments:

@JohnMertenton said:

“Close the borders and replace the law under immigration rules and regulations.”

@Tshepo77692114 wrote:

“We need leaders like this one.”

Over 100K Zimbabweans face deportation, only 6k ZEP holders respond to Home Affairs’ call to make arrangements

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In a related matter, Briefly News also reported only 6 000 of the 178 000 Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders have responded to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s appeal to review their status in the country.

The permit will expire at the end of the year. The department has called for Zimbabwean immigrants’ employers to prepare their workers to be deported.

Home Affairs Director-General Livhuwani Tommy Makhode said Zimbabwean nationals who hold the permit and met the requirements of Section 26 of the Immigration Act were entitled to apply for permanent residence in the country, TimesLIVE reported.

Source: Briefly News