The Permits were scheduled to expire at the end of December 2014. Consequently, the Minister of Home Affairs announced on 12 August the new program to renew the Permits. Under the DZP process, the department issued 242 731 permits and rejected 51 780 applications. The new process will cater for all the 294 511 applicants who submitted applications under the last program. This is inclusive of the applications which were rejected from the DZP program.

“We welcome the steady inflow of applications, as we’re convinced that the full execution of the program will go a very long way in allaying fears of certificated Zimbabwean nationals who are contributing positively to the development of our market, along with pupils. The Department must work with speed to adjudicate these applications,” said Mr. Lemias Mashile, the Chairperson of the Committee.

The Committee was, likewise, impressed by the number of instances of fraud in acquiring false South African documentation, which was resolved through this program. The program offered special resistance to Zimbabwean nationals who obtained the SA documents fraudulently. The entire program uncovered 13 251 cases of fraudulent documentation. This led to the cancellation of these documents, the cleaning up of the population register as well as the Zimbabwean national was granted right permits.