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SA scraps Mozambique visas, but not Zimbabwe's
The Daily News Online
April 20, 2005

http://www.daily-news.co.za

JOHANNESBURG - The South African government, fearing an expected influx of Zimbabweans into its territory following the removal of stringent visa requirements, will for the meantime maintain the current visa system with its northern neighbour.

Speaking at a recent ceremony at which it announced its removal of visa requirements for Mozambican nationals visiting South Africa for a maximum of 30 days, South African Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula expressed concern with the condition
of the Beitbridge border post, where thousands of Zimbabweans cross into South Africa.

She said the number of Zimbabweans who were crossing the border post on a daily basis was unacceptable.

"On a daily basis we experience a very high influx of Zimbabweans who are involved in cross-border trading. The situation now demands that we should do something about it and we are currently talking with our Zimbabwean counterparts," said Mapisa-Nqakula.

She said the visa waiver pact with Mozambique was meant to encourage legal entry and to keep a proper record of people who come in and go out.The agreement was co-signed by Jose Pacheco, the Mozambican Home Affairs Minister.

Mapisa-Nqakula did not, however, say when discussions with the Zimbabwean government would be translated into the scrapping of visa requirements. At the moment, Zimbabweans are required to get visas before they can travel to South Africa.

The requirements for the South African visa are now beyond the reach of many Zimbabweans, who are required to either produce travelers' cheques worth R1 000 or savings with any South African bank of the same amount.

The streets of Johannesburg, South Africa's economic capital, are filled with Zimbabwean blind beggars who have run away from Zimbabwe. Illegal border jumpers have also invaded the country's industrial sites in search of employment. More than three million Zimbabweans are believed to be eking a living either by illegally working in South Africa or involved in cross-border activities.

Although the South African government has tried to curb the influx of Zimbabweans by introducing stringent visa requirements, the move seems to have come to naught as long queues can still be witnessed at the South African visa office in Harare.

Zimbabwean banks, seeing the popularity of the South African visas, are now cashing in by requiring that any Zimbabwean in need of the visa has to find ways and means of acquiring the R1 000 from the black market, and hand it over to the bank for it to issue travelers cheques of equivalent amount plus a commission of Z$500 000 per transaction.

Zimbabwe is a major South African trading partner, with large volumes of goods going through Beitbridge. The border post is also Zimbabwe's safest gateway to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans through the ports at Durban and Cape Town.

The scrapping of visa requirements for Mozambicans visiting South Africa is set to improve trade relations between the two countries. South Africa has similar arrangements with Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Namibia,Malawi, Lesotho and the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

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