ZIMBABWEANS living in South Africa say the hike in the price of Zimbabwean passports is contributing to more of them being in the country illegally.
On Tuesday, a group of Zimbabweans and some South Africans marched to the Zimbabwean embassy in Hatfield, Pretoria, to demand a standard price for passports that they say should be in line with other African countries.
A Zimbabwean living in Hillbrow who did not want to be named said the price hike is contributing to many Zimbabweans living illegally in South Africa.
The 30-year-old, who has been in the country for about 10 years, said he lost his passport after being robbed last year and cannot afford a new one. “I am not working so I don’t have R5 000 for a passport. Here in South Africa if you don’t have a permit, you won’t work, so I don’t know what I can do. Going back home is also expensive.
At least if they dropped that price to US$100, it would be better. Working is hard if you do not have the proper documents. We can’t survive and maybe we will turn into criminals. “It’s like I am illegal because I don’t have a passport. I don’t feel comfortable, I am scared and when I see the police I feel like I should run away because I don’t have documents.”
He said he survives through odd jobs. “I can’t find a proper job because I don’t have a qualification or proper documents, I don’t have anything. The amount that I would use to travel home is the same as a new passport, R5 000,” he said.
Another Zimbabwean, Nonhlanhla Ndlovu, said the price hike was too much. In February 2018, Ndlovu came to South Africa without a passport by crossing the Limpopo River, in hopes of getting a job. The 25-year-old said she has not been able to get a passport because she does not have any money. For about five years she has been able to evade arrest by dodging the police.
“When I see them, I take another route and hide. I don’t know how I will get a passport, I might die first. I am not working fulltime, I depend on odd jobs,” she said. She fears that she will be arrested. “I cannot live freely, it scares me and I wonder if one day they will get me,” Ndlovu said.
Mandi Chiwashira, convener of Zimbabwean citizens living in South Africa, said the passport fee was unaffordable. “We are here because the situation in Zimbabwe is not good, we are crying also here in South Africa where we are just surviving with God’s mercy. Our passport is R5 000, what is so special about it?”
“From US$50 dollars last year, I went to get a passport. It was US$120, and this year they hiked the price to US$250, which is close to R5 000. Where are we going to get that money?” she said. —Sowetan
