The Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) has welcomed the six-month extension for Zimbabwean exemption permits (ZEPs).
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said this week the final date for applications will now be June 30 2023.
The government decided not to renew the permits when they expired in December 2021, but agreed to an extension to December to grant ZEP holders a chance to apply for alternative visas.
“Fedhasa empathises greatly with the serious impact the cancellation of the permits may have had on some businesses; particularly the logistical considerations and humanitarian implications for staff members who have been an integral part of the team for many years,” said national chair Rosemary Anderson.
“Thousands of legal Zimbabwean permit holders have been living and working in SA for many years. Many now have SA children and families.
“Requiring of ZEPs to leave SA would not only have negative consequences for the hospitality and tourism industry, but would cause trauma and pain to people whose only sin was to legally look for a better life for themselves and their families,” Anderson said.
SA’s unemployment problem would not be resolved by forcibly removing a few hundred thousand Zimbabwean permit holders who had built their lives in this country, she added, saying SA should rather set its sights on expanding its economy and creating more jobs for the millions of unemployed South Africans. The tourism and hospitality industry could play a key role in this regard if there was a concerted government effort to prioritise removing the red tape hamstringing the industry.
“For tourism and hospitality to deliver on its economic promise, we require an approach where all government departments, business, and labour join forces to remove unnecessary red tape, provide a tourism-friendly environment and elevate our destination status to the level it should be. Inbound international tourism and hospitality could be the key to making a massive dent in our unemployment problems in SA.
“We could create significant numbers of jobs in hospitality and tourism in areas where other industries do not operate if we simply committed to collaborating meaningfully to facilitate the changes that are needed for tourism to flourish,” Anderson said.
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Fedhasa welcomes Zimbabwean exemption permit extension
Image: 123RF/lmeispencer
The Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) has welcomed the six-month extension for Zimbabwean exemption permits (ZEPs).
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said this week the final date for applications will now be June 30 2023.
The government decided not to renew the permits when they expired in December 2021, but agreed to an extension to December to grant ZEP holders a chance to apply for alternative visas.
“Fedhasa empathises greatly with the serious impact the cancellation of the permits may have had on some businesses; particularly the logistical considerations and humanitarian implications for staff members who have been an integral part of the team for many years,” said national chair Rosemary Anderson.
“Thousands of legal Zimbabwean permit holders have been living and working in SA for many years. Many now have SA children and families.
“Requiring of ZEPs to leave SA would not only have negative consequences for the hospitality and tourism industry, but would cause trauma and pain to people whose only sin was to legally look for a better life for themselves and their families,” Anderson said.
SA’s unemployment problem would not be resolved by forcibly removing a few hundred thousand Zimbabwean permit holders who had built their lives in this country, she added, saying SA should rather set its sights on expanding its economy and creating more jobs for the millions of unemployed South Africans. The tourism and hospitality industry could play a key role in this regard if there was a concerted government effort to prioritise removing the red tape hamstringing the industry.
“For tourism and hospitality to deliver on its economic promise, we require an approach where all government departments, business, and labour join forces to remove unnecessary red tape, provide a tourism-friendly environment and elevate our destination status to the level it should be. Inbound international tourism and hospitality could be the key to making a massive dent in our unemployment problems in SA.
“We could create significant numbers of jobs in hospitality and tourism in areas where other industries do not operate if we simply committed to collaborating meaningfully to facilitate the changes that are needed for tourism to flourish,” Anderson said.
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