The Zimbabwean Community in South Africa has launched a petition calling on the Zimbabwean government to review the US$250 passport application fee.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage directed that all e-passport applications processed at the consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, shall be handled as express/emergency applications in terms of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2024 and will cost US$250.
Ngqabutho Mabhena, Chairperson of the Zimbabwean Community in South Africa, criticised the government for using passport applications as a revenue-raising tool.
“The Zimbabwean government says that Zimbabweans living in South Africa will have to pay US$250 to apply for a passport. The government says that passports applied for in South Africa are treated either as express or emergency passports, which are supposed to be issued within seven working days.”
“Earlier this year, I went to Zimbabwe when my passport was about to expire. I applied for a passport in Bulawayo and had to pay US$170. Now, the government says Zimbabweans in South Africa have to pay US$250,” he said.
Mabhena highlighted that the Zimbabwean passport is significantly more expensive than those in other SADC countries.
“The majority of Zimbabweans living in South Africa are migrant workers. The government wants to use passport applications as a tool to raise money, but at the same time, it denies the very people it is using to fundraise the right to vote in South Africa and other countries.”
“Ours is a very expensive passport. A South African passport will cost you R600, while our US$250, depending on the exchange rate, is above R4,700 or R5,000. Even if it is US$170, the money I paid earlier this year, one has to pay over R4,000. Someone working in Zimbabwe, if they want to apply for a passport, has to raise over R4,000 or US$170, while a worker in South Africa pays R600,” said Mabhena.
He added, “In Botswana, the passport is 260 pula, which is almost equal to a rand, so you might say the passport in Botswana is plus or minus R260. If you apply in Zimbabwe, it’s US$170, over R4,000. If you apply in South Africa, it’s US$250, which is plus or minus R5,000. An express passport in Zambia costs 700 kwacha, which is US$26.46. In Kenya, the passport costs 750 Kenyan shillings, which converts to US$54.44.”
He compared the costs, stating, “The countries I looked into, none of them charge close to US$100 to apply for a passport. Only Kenya charges over US$50. Ours is the most expensive.”
Mabhena called for solidarity from workers across the African continent to sign the petition.
“As workers, we have a slogan: an injury to one is an injury to all. It is in this spirit that we ask workers across the globe, not only Zimbabwean workers, but workers in South Africa, Botswana, across the SADC region, and the African continent, to be in solidarity with the workers in Zimbabwe. The workers in Zimbabwe, who are expected to pay US$170, complement their income by doing cross-border trade, but they cannot afford the US$170,” he said.
He underscored the financial burden on migrant workers in South Africa, who must pay US$250 regardless of their occupation.
“The Zimbabwean Community in South Africa is circulating a petition. This petition is not limited to Zimbabweans in South Africa but is meant for progressive working people who are in solidarity with workers in Zimbabwe. Whether you work as a teacher or for the city council, you earn very little and may want to complement your income by doing cross-border trade on your off days. You are required to fork out US$170, which is too expensive.”
“When you work in South Africa as a migrant worker, whether on farms, in factories, as a truck driver, or any other job, you are supposed to pay US$250. We are asking the progressive working class across the globe to be in solidarity with the workers of Zimbabwe, both those in Zimbabwe and migrant workers, by signing this petition,” said Mabhena.
He called on all workers, in the spirit of solidarity, to sign the petition and call on the government of Zimbabwe to review the passport fee, adding that “it is just too expensive.”
