The South African government has insisted that it will not embark on a second phase of the regularisation of undocumented Zimbabweans staying in the country illegally.

Home Affairs spokesperson Mr Ronnie Mamoepa told Limpopo Mirror that the documentation exercise for Zimbabweans has been finalised and would not be extended. Zimbabwe, through its Home Affairs Minister, Mr Kembo Mohadi, had reportedly approached the South African government over the possible extension of the documentation exercise for Zimbabweans living in the country illegally.

"We have closed the doors [documentation of Zimbabweans] forever. If there are those who did not take up that offer, they are being deported,” Mamoepa said.

South Africa suspended the deportation of undocumented Zimbabweans in May 2009 and later introduced a special dispensation during which Zimbabweans were given an opportunity to regularise their stay in South Africa by applying for work, business and study permits. South Africa officially completed the process of taking applications on 31 December 2010.

The documentation process was, however, later extended to 31 July 2011, following a special request from the Zimbabwean government, largely due to a backlog in its processing passports for the citizens. The dispensation was to allow Zimbabweans to enter and remain in South Africa without legal and proper documents and, through this dispensation, they were not subjected to deportation.

The end of the documentation process culminated in the deportation of illegal Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa, which resumed on 7 October 2011, marking the end of the amnesty for the illegal immigrants. The first batch of 261 deportees was brought in from the Lindela detention centre outside Johannesburg in four buses under escort of SA Home Affairs officials.

Mohadi said, however, he would continue to engage his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, over the second phase of the documentation of Zimbabwe.  “Engagements will continue because this is not a once-off thing. A lot of our people continue to cross the border into South Africa without proper travel documents and it is something that happens every day,” he said.