South Africa’s Social Development Minister and chairperson of the ANC’s international relations subcommittee, Lindiwe Zulu has said Zimbabweans residing in that country should be in their home country.
The senior ruling African National Congress (ANC) party official has added that all nations need to take responsibility for their citizens.
She made the remarks on Monday during a discussion on party policy documents. Zulu was reported as saying by jacarandafm.com:
When it comes to the issue of Home Affairs, and you were saying maybe we are sending Zimbabweans back to starve, as the African National Congress we believe that all countries need to take responsibility of their citizens.
First and foremost, we take responsibility of our citizens, we make sure that despite the challenges that we have of poverty, unemployment and inequality, we shouldn’t be having South Africans leaving South Africa with almost nothing,
… leaving South Africa and going to neighbouring countries to go and look for greener pastures when they aren’t even that much of the greener pastures that we can talk about.
About a million Zimbabweans are said to have gone to South Africa in search of greener pastures as the economy back home started crumbling.
Zulu’s remarks come amid tensions over South Africa’s decision to cancel Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs). Holders of the ZEPs will be deported at the end of this year if they fail to regularise their stay there, under new “strict” arrangements.