After completing his A-levels in Zimbabwe, Percy Lawrence came to South Africa to seek greener pastures in 2006 as his home country plunged into economic meltdown.
After initially working as a waiter, Lawrence developed an interest in computers and today is a head software developer for a leading company in Cape Town.
Now, 17 years later, Lawrence and his wife and their two children — who were both born in South Africa — face an uncertain future due to the South African government’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwe exemption permit (ZEP) programme by the end of June.
Under the programme, about 178,000 Zimbabwean permit-holders can live and work lawfully in South Africa without one of the visas stipulated in the Immigration Act or obtaining asylum-seeker or refugee status.
Lawrence said if the programme comes to an end and effectively makes him an illegal immigrant, not only will he lose his job but his two properties in Johannesburg and in Cape Town will be in jeopardy as they are financed with bank loans.
“If we are uprooted from South Africa and told to go to Zim, that will have a dire financial impact on me as a breadwinner. My wife and kids would have nowhere to stay as we left home a long time ago and have no home there,” he said.
Just imagine losing everything and having to start from scratch almost at the age of 50
— Percy Lawrence
“My kids had never been to Zim... even their education will be in question because Zim no longer offers the Cambridge curriculum. The quality of education is no longer the same … So, I would be subjecting my kids to that.”
Lawrence said that because of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, he would not be able to put his skills to work there.
“Just imagine losing everything and having to start from scratch almost at the age of 50. Being a Zimbabwean living in South Africa is difficult enough. We are often accused of taking people’s jobs. And now we face the risk of being uprooted because politicians probably want to appease voters ahead of elections next year. The sad part is that we can’t fight back.”
The Helen Suzman Foundation and the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation (ZIF), a group representing Zimbabweans in South Africa, are among those who have challenged the government decision to end the ZEP programme in the Pretoria high court.
During the hearing this week, the department of home affairs said the programme, launched in 2009, was never intended to be open-ended and had now come to a natural close.
Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, counsel for the ZIF, argued among other things that the decision by home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi not to renew the permit system — as he had done previously — was outside his legal powers.
Lawrence, who has applied for a critical skills visa so he can maintain his legal status, said he was worried the application could be rejected because he does not have a university degree, which is a requirement.
“When I apply for the skills permit, home affairs does not look at me as an individual. They just say, ‘These are the requirements… You are supposed to have a three-year degree,’ and your experience doesn’t seem to count.
Now we face the risk of being uprooted because politicians probably want to appease voters ahead of elections next year
— Percy Lawrence
“I have everything they need, a critical skill which most South Africans don’t have, I have experience of more than 15 years, I have certificates from organisations that have certified that I’m skilled. But those certifications are not recognised in the absence of a university degree, which seems to invalidate every skill that I have.”
Another ZEP permit holder, primary school teacher Fortunate Chikandiwa, who has lived in South Africa for 16 years, is pinning her hopes on her husband obtaining a critical skills visa. A high-school maths and science teacher, he applied for the visa a year ago.
“You have no idea the kind of anxiety we have about this process,” she said. “If he doesn’t get it that will mean an end to a lot of things. Every day we check our e-mails for a response from home affairs.”
Chikandiwa said that if they have to leave they will lose their livelihoods and possibly forfeit the properties for which they had worked and sacrificed for years.
“First of all, our jobs are in jeopardy as no formal employer wants to employ an illegal immigrant. Without stable jobs we will not be able to afford to repay our two homes that are both financed by banks. Our bank accounts might be closed if we don’t have valid documentation.”
She said her husband was 50, a difficult age to start a new life. “Having your future hanging in the balance and not knowing whether you will have a job in two months is depressing. We are all anxious.”
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