Don't panic, Zim special permit holders told

Thousands of Zimbabweans  living in South Africa, who hold the special dispensation permit should not panic but stay put and wait for the government to make an official announcement at the end of the year, a lobby group has urged.

Zimbabwe Community in South Africa (ZCSA) chairperson, Ngqabutho Mabhena, said holders of the permit should guard against falling prey to con-artists.

"If you are a special permit holder, please wait for official announcement by the Home Affairs minister (Malusi Gigaba). Please ignore statements circulating on social media about the special permits," Mabhena said as quoted by NewsDay.

The lobby group's spokesperson, Bongani Mkhwananzi, said ZCSA has received "inquiries on the supposed announcement by the Department of Home Affairs on the special permit possible renewal".

"The ZCSA is confident that after the minister and his peers in government and political circles have applied their minds with considered the requests and input we also have presented, an official announcement will be made," he said.

"We cannot promise a favourable announcement, but are confident the minister understands the plight of the permit holders and will give a reasonable response and way forward. We would like to encourage those that qualify to migrate to other permits to do so."

Gigaba early this year said he would not be rushed into a decision and only last week met his Zimbabwean counterpart, Ignatius Chombo, over regional migration issues.

Mkhwananzi added: "We were assured this (retention of passports) won't happen. We are yet to receive reports of such retention of the passport by the embassy and advise people to bring such incidences to our attention so we can make our case with the department."