By Ziyah News Reporter
Zimbabweans living in South Africa have expressed shock at the directive by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to handle all passport applications at the Johannesburg Consulate as express or emergency passport with some branding it unfair and punitive.
This directive, effectively means Zimbabweans across the Limpopo have been stripped of the option to apply for an ordinary passport that goes for US$ 170 and will have to fork out US$ 270 instead which is about R 4,940.80 using today’s rate.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has directed that, all e- passport applications that are processed at the Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa shall be handled as express/ emergency applications in terms of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2024.In effect, this means passport application fees for the express/ emergency passport shall be USD250.00 charged at the prevailing USD/ZAR exchange rate with effect from Monday 29 July 2024,” read a statement from the Z
Most of the Zimbabweans living in the Rainbow nation were incensed not only by the directive but that it came with no explanation.
“The money is just too much , the average Zimbabwean here does not earn much, most are around R7000 per month making that amount steep,” said a Johannesburg based lady who identified herself as Tate.
“This is not fair, I will be personally raising my objection through relevant channels, and US$250 is just too much. Diaspora remittance have increased by 12.5 percent this year and we are the people behind this crucial element to the economy currently,” said another Zimbabwean on condition of anonymity
With Zimbabwean passport being one of the most expensive in the region, the directive has once again ignited debate around the cost of the country’s foreign travelling document.
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