South African Reporters Quiz Mnangagwa On ZEP Permits
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday ducked questions when asked to give his thoughts on South Africa’s efforts to curb migration and about the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP).
Mnangagwa was meeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the border between the two countries to launch the Border Management Authority (BMA).
BMA is a South African integrated border enforcement agency with a single command and control meant to curb illegal goods smuggling, and illicit drugs and cover up porous border concerns.
According to a ZimLive report, Mnangagwa evaded the question about South Africa’s migration policies by talking about his recent trip to the United States of America where he had a meeting with Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Said Mnangagwa:
We met in New York and had a family chat when my brother (Ramaphosa) told me that he was coming to officially launch the BMA on this day, I told him it was an opportunity for us to meet so we decided that we inspect both sides together.
If we continuously meet as presidents, why shouldn’t our people from either border have the same relationship?
We want the two people from both ends to talk as well as we, as presidents talk to each other.
An online publication reported that the South African Presidency prevented South African reporters from asking Mnangagwa tough questions, which it described as “an act resembling blatant censorship”.
More: Pindula News
