Nearly 100 000 Zimbabweans have left SA since late May, Zim govt says

• Zimbabwe says 99 418 citizens have returned from South Africa since 28 May, and more than 70% of the returnees are women and children.
• The government says it has expanded repatriation and reintegration efforts, with assistance from development partners, the First Lady, health workers and neighbouring countries’ embassies.
• Zimbabwe is also assisting Malawians and Zambians transiting through the country and has strengthened border operations to process the influx of returnees.

The Zimbabwean government says nearly 100 000 of its citizens have returned from South Africa since late May amid heightened tensions over immigration in South Africa, where groups such as March and March called for foreigners to leave the country.

Addressing journalists after a cabinet meeting in Harare on Tuesday, Zimbabwe Information Minister Zhemu Soda said the cabinet had received an update on the repatriation and reintegration programme, which Minister of Local Government and Public Works Daniel Garwe had led.

“The nation is being informed that, through collaborative efforts, the interministerial committee and development partners facilitated the return of 99 418 citizens from 28 May up to now,” Soda said.

He added that more than 70% of the returnees were women and children and said the number of Zimbabweans requiring assistance continued to rise.

“Measures have been put in place to meet the growing demand,” he said.

Soda said First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa had assisted returnees at the Beitbridge Repatriation Centre, donating 30 tonnes of rice, 20 tonnes of mealie meal, more than 5 000 tracksuits, 1 500 nappies, and 1 500 sanitary packs.

He said the government was also working with the Malawian and Zambian embassies to assist their citizens who had crossed into Zimbabwe while returning home from South Africa.

“Appropriate arrangements are being put in place for assistance to be rendered to any other nationals facing challenges as they transit to their countries of origin,” Soda said.

Zimbabwe’s Border Management Committee, which includes immigration and customs authorities, had also intensified measures to process buses and trucks transporting returnees through border posts more efficiently, he added.

The health ministry, working with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and other partners, has provided medical services at the Beitbridge transit centre.

According to Soda, healthcare workers have treated several patients, screened 870 children for malnutrition, and identified and treated 15 cases of diarrhoea.

He said the government would continue supporting returning citizens to ensure their smooth reintegration.

Speaking at the same briefing, Zmbabwean Foreign Affairs Minister Amon Murwira said the government welcomed a recent visit by South African traditional leaders, including amaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, who met President Emmerson Mnangagwa and distanced themselves from xenophobic attacks in South Africa.