New Home Affairs Minister Schreiber off to a promising start — but challenges remain

After only one day in office, the new minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, made an impact. In his first official act, he extended until 31 December the temporary concession for foreign nationals awaiting the outcome of visa, waiver and appeal applications.

Finally, some relief for about 145,000 applicants — many of whom are married to South Africans — who have been living in limbo and in constant fear of being declared “undesirable”.

I’m not sure what caused this enormous backlog at the Department of Home Affairs. Clearly, something big went wrong. It is important to acknowledge that there are many extremely hard-working and kind Home Affairs officials. As far as passport and identity document applications are concerned, the system has improved with the introduction of an appointment system and some bank branches becoming satellite offices. Nevertheless, the length of the queues remains unacceptable. 

Hopefully, Schreiber will also be able to sort this out. He might want to look at the extremely efficient online application system used by Ireland. I recognise that this will not assist the many South Africans who are unable to use online systems, but at least it will shorten the queues significantly. 

I also hope that the minister will now finally do the right thing when it comes to the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEPs). 

Introduced in 2009, this permit gave Zimbabweans who were fleeing to South Africa for political or economic reasons an opportunity to work, study and live here. However, over the past few years, the government has been threatening to withdraw it. 

Such a withdrawal could affect more than 200,000 Zimbabweans who, unless they can qualify for a normal work visa — something that will be nigh impossible, given the high standards the government has introduced for rare skills — will have to return to Zimbabwe. 

Many of these Zimbabweans have been here for more than two decades and have married South Africans, with whom they have children. The threats by the government have left them stressed and fearful.  

Almost all democratic countries allow people to apply for permanent residence once they’ve been in that country legally for 60 months. The previous minister of Home Affairs has argued that this was never the case for those with ZEPs, but the question is: Why not? Isn’t it the morally right thing to do — not to mention conforming with international jurisprudence?

It is often argued that Zimbabweans are taking jobs away from South Africans. It is important to recognise that Zimbabweans contribute greatly to our economy. Not only do they work hard in professions where employers often struggle to fill positions with South Africans, but they also buy goods here to send back to Zimbabwe. 

Of course, there are always those who claim that Zimbabweans are involved in crime. I do not doubt that some are, but crime is certainly not confined to Zimbabweans. If people are involved in crime, they must be caught and prosecuted — irrespective of their nationality. 

This is not part of the so-called leaky borders issue, where people enter South Africa without valid permits. These are people who legally applied to be here through a scheme that the government voluntarily introduced. 

Last year, after facing a litany of litigation the previous minister of Home Affairs extended the ZEPs until 29 November 2025. That was good, but this issue needs to be sorted out once and for all. 

Ultimately, this is about compassion. Zimbabwe might be slightly more politically stable today, but it remains a country of political persecution and massive economic hardship. 

To force almost 200,000 people to go back there is inhumane and will result in devastating suffering for those returning and the extended families they support. It will also leave thousands of South African employers without workers on whom they have come to rely. 

I wish Schreiber well. He was certainly handed a poisonous chalice, but if he improves the efficiency and humaneness of the Department of Home Affairs, he will not only contribute to the economy, but also become the hero of South Africans and migrants alike. DM