News / National
Counselling for SA returnees
05 Apr 2023 at 06:54hrs | Views
GOVERNMENT has started equipping frontline workers, who will assist an estimated 170 000 holders of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP), with counselling and psychosocial skills which will assist in reintegrating the returning citizens.
South Africa has been issuing special permits that allowed skilled Zimbabweans to legally work and live in South Africa and has extended them several times. Holders of the ZEP have until the end of June this year to migrate to mainstream permits in South Africa.
The last special permits were issued in 2017 and in November 2021. The South African Cabinet announced that no further concessions would be allowed on ZEP holders.
The Department of Home Affairs granted a 12-month grace period up to the end of last month, but later extended it to end of June this year. Government has set plans in motion to assist Zimbabweans to have a seamless return home at the expiry of the ZEP.
The returning residents have been given a special facility by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to ship in all their property before the date of arrival in the country duty free.
Bulawayo and the two Matabeleland provinces will receive the bulk of returnees when the ZEP expires on June 30.
Participants drawn from various Government arms in the three provinces yesterday converged in Bulawayo for a three-day lay counselling and psychosocial training workshop.
It emerged during the meeting that the anticipated number of returnees could potentially increase to three million because of families returning and other nationalities being deported.
According to ZimStats Population and Housing Census, households with emigrants constituted 13,6 percent (520,240) of all households enumerated.
Matabeleland South Province had the largest proportion; 33 percent, of households that experienced the loss of members through emigration while Matabeleland North and Masvingo provinces experienced a loss of 24 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Matabeleland South, Mrs Latiso Dlamini-Maseko said her province would bear the brunt of returning citizens.
"Matabeleland South will be having the highest number of returnees. As Matabeleland South, we have Beitbridge and Plumtree border posts and we will be overwhelmed and this is the reason we want to equip our frontline staff with the counselling and psychosocial skills which will assist in reintegrating the returning citizens," she said.
Mrs Dlamini-Maseko said the province is engaging Chiefs and also working on logistics to helps seamlessly reintegrate the returnees.
"We have come up with centres where we shall accommodate the returnees and there will be transport for them. We are engaging our community leaders such as chiefs to ensure that they also have these skills of integrating the returnees into the societies," she said.
Mrs Dlamini-Maseko said the returnees' skills that they acquired in South Africa will be utilised locally.
"We want to ensure that while we are bringing the returnees in, we would like to capacitate them so that we harness their skills acquired from South Africa. Remember some of them were working and therefore they will contribute to the economic development of our country," she said.
In a speech read on his behalf by the chief social development officer Mrs Patience Chiputura during the opening of the workshop, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Simon Masanga said it is important to capacitate officials with counselling skills.
"We have committees as part of the preparations for the returnees. Sharpening our counselling skills, is a way in which these committees can be capacitated. This training will empower the frontline officers to be equipped with skills to handle the returnees upon and post-arrival," he said.
Dr Debra Machando, a World Health Organisation (WHO) mental expert said the relocation of people from one place to another is stressful and has the potential to impact on the mental health of those affected following the expiry of ZEP.
"When people are relocating, we consider that it's a humanitarian crisis because they aren't relocating voluntarily, but they are being deported. Just that knowledge of being deported brings about huge stress to any person," he said.
"Any huge change, whether it is positive or negative it brings about significant stress levels."
Dr Machando said the training will be extended to service delivery personnel who will be receiving returnees.
"What we usually find is if you are working with such huge size of groups as the service deliverer you are also likely to be distressed. The training that we are running is also to support those who are going to be assisting the returnees when they come back," she said.
"We want to build their capacities so that can be helpful in the services that they offer and treat the returnees with dignity. If people are treated with dignity and they are supported, the trauma of being deported is going to be less."
South Africa has been issuing special permits that allowed skilled Zimbabweans to legally work and live in South Africa and has extended them several times. Holders of the ZEP have until the end of June this year to migrate to mainstream permits in South Africa.
The last special permits were issued in 2017 and in November 2021. The South African Cabinet announced that no further concessions would be allowed on ZEP holders.
The Department of Home Affairs granted a 12-month grace period up to the end of last month, but later extended it to end of June this year. Government has set plans in motion to assist Zimbabweans to have a seamless return home at the expiry of the ZEP.
The returning residents have been given a special facility by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to ship in all their property before the date of arrival in the country duty free.
Bulawayo and the two Matabeleland provinces will receive the bulk of returnees when the ZEP expires on June 30.
Participants drawn from various Government arms in the three provinces yesterday converged in Bulawayo for a three-day lay counselling and psychosocial training workshop.
It emerged during the meeting that the anticipated number of returnees could potentially increase to three million because of families returning and other nationalities being deported.
According to ZimStats Population and Housing Census, households with emigrants constituted 13,6 percent (520,240) of all households enumerated.
Matabeleland South Province had the largest proportion; 33 percent, of households that experienced the loss of members through emigration while Matabeleland North and Masvingo provinces experienced a loss of 24 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Matabeleland South, Mrs Latiso Dlamini-Maseko said her province would bear the brunt of returning citizens.
"Matabeleland South will be having the highest number of returnees. As Matabeleland South, we have Beitbridge and Plumtree border posts and we will be overwhelmed and this is the reason we want to equip our frontline staff with the counselling and psychosocial skills which will assist in reintegrating the returning citizens," she said.
Mrs Dlamini-Maseko said the province is engaging Chiefs and also working on logistics to helps seamlessly reintegrate the returnees.
"We have come up with centres where we shall accommodate the returnees and there will be transport for them. We are engaging our community leaders such as chiefs to ensure that they also have these skills of integrating the returnees into the societies," she said.
Mrs Dlamini-Maseko said the returnees' skills that they acquired in South Africa will be utilised locally.
"We want to ensure that while we are bringing the returnees in, we would like to capacitate them so that we harness their skills acquired from South Africa. Remember some of them were working and therefore they will contribute to the economic development of our country," she said.
In a speech read on his behalf by the chief social development officer Mrs Patience Chiputura during the opening of the workshop, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Simon Masanga said it is important to capacitate officials with counselling skills.
"We have committees as part of the preparations for the returnees. Sharpening our counselling skills, is a way in which these committees can be capacitated. This training will empower the frontline officers to be equipped with skills to handle the returnees upon and post-arrival," he said.
Dr Debra Machando, a World Health Organisation (WHO) mental expert said the relocation of people from one place to another is stressful and has the potential to impact on the mental health of those affected following the expiry of ZEP.
"When people are relocating, we consider that it's a humanitarian crisis because they aren't relocating voluntarily, but they are being deported. Just that knowledge of being deported brings about huge stress to any person," he said.
"Any huge change, whether it is positive or negative it brings about significant stress levels."
Dr Machando said the training will be extended to service delivery personnel who will be receiving returnees.
"What we usually find is if you are working with such huge size of groups as the service deliverer you are also likely to be distressed. The training that we are running is also to support those who are going to be assisting the returnees when they come back," she said.
"We want to build their capacities so that can be helpful in the services that they offer and treat the returnees with dignity. If people are treated with dignity and they are supported, the trauma of being deported is going to be less."
Source - The Chronicle
