ADVERTISEMENT:
News - Date: 29 February 2008
South Africa has, with immediate effect, relaxed some of the stringent visa requirements for Zimbabweans intending to enter the country, following talks between the two governments, Mirror has established.
Zimbabwe’s principal chief immigration officer, Mr Clemence Masango, confirmed the latest development on Monday.
Masango said according to the authorities, copies of IDs of people inviting them to South Africa, the invitation letters of residence of where one would stay during their visit in South Africa were no longer a requirement when applying for a visa. "The security deposit shall be required only in respect of persons with a history of having overstayed in South Africa or whose bona fides are questionable," Masango said.
The applicants for a visitor’s visa are now required to submit a valid passport, one passport-size photograph and proof of funds in the form of travelers’ cheques, credit cards or foreign bank statements that show a balance of at least R2 000.
The scrapping of the stringent visa requirements comes as a result of a series of talks between Zimbabwe and South Africa in the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security late last year. The meetings were held in Pretoria and Harare.
The announcement also comes after the relaxation of visa requirements for Zimbabwean cross-border traders, who now qualify for a 12-month multiple entry permit, provided they belong to a bona fide association or body representing them.
Most of these cross-border traders are women, who make a living through crossing the Limpopo River to purchase local commodities, which are in short supply back home, for resale in Zimbabwe. They also sell their wares, such as wooden sculptures, in South Africa.
Before this arrangement, cross-border traders were being treated as ordinary visitors and found it difficult to conduct their business.
Meanwhile, residents in Musina had, until the latest development, been capitalizing on the stringent visa requirements by charging exorbitant fees to Zimbabweans in need of copies of their IDs and invitation letters, so that they could get the visas from the South African embassy in Harare. South Africans intending to enter Zimbabwe do not require a visa, as it was scrapped more than ten years ago.
Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.
Search for a story:
ADVERTISEMENT
The economic conditions in Zimbabwe forced Tanaka Moyo (40) to legally seek greener pastures in Musina. He opted for a unique business plan, selling the wild jujube fruit to make a living. The fruit, called masau in Shona, is better known as mazwilu in Tshivenda.
As the unemployment rate in South Africa continued to rise, a group of women from Makonde village decided to start a community-based project to create job opportunities for themselves. However, it is very difficult to continue with the project without support from the government or the private sector.
At the age of 104, William Masindi Sadiki still has many stories to tell. Some of these are about his experiences during World War II, when he was part of the North Africa campaign. He is one of the few black soldiers from that era still alive, and he proudly pins his war medals on his chest on formal occasions.
The Rivoni School for the Blind in in Njakanjaka village in the Vhembe District has 167 learners from Grade R to Grade 12. The school was started in 2016 by the Rivoni Society for the Blind, founded in June 1975 at Elim Hospital by late Swiss doctor Erwin Sutter. The society later transferred responsibility for the school to the Department of Education.