Hon Chair, the statistics I have released here were about the Zimbabweans who were
given Zimbabwean special permits, ZSP, which were issued to them after 2008 when there was an avalanche of Zimbabweans rushing to South Africa undocumented. The department realised that the normal methods of documentation will be impossible because the number was too much.
Zimbabweans were then offered to come forward, whether they were legal or illegal and get permits that allowed them to stay in South Africa for four years while the issue was being resolved.
Two hundred and seventy nine thousand Zimbabweans came forward and were given these documents. They are still holding to them. They expired after four years, they were renewed and are now expiring again I think in 2021 or 2023 I'm not sure.
The same offered to Basotho. All the Basotho were here because they in large numbers but 91 000 of them came forward and were given Lesotho special permits. The Minister of Home Affairs in Lesotho then told me that he believes there are 200 000 of them. Some of them went
into hiding when we issued these permits because they thought it was a ploy to send them back home when we said we want to register them.
Now, I currently don't have figures of the other migrants of other countries here but we do have them, I can supply them but I don't want to mention incorrect figures here in front of you.
Now, this how the documentation should be done; when you arrive at the boarder, if you don't hide but announce that you want to apply for refugee status, the law says we must give you a five day permit and we issue to all those who come, those who are in hiding or go through broken fences, you can't you won't even know them.
We give them a five day permit. It gives them a chance to come into the country to go to one of the five refugee reception centres. When they arrive there, they are given a section 22 permit. That is a permit to stay in the country for a period of 3-6 months during which they must apply for refugee status. And during that time, no one can arrest them. That is also documentation. When they
win refugee status, you are now declared a refugee. You are given the same rights as any South African except only one right, the right to vote.