Zimbabwean Passport Price Hike Sparks Outrage Among Low-Income Earners in South Africa
A petition launched by the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa has gathered over 1,100 signatures in just a few days, urging the Zimbabwean government to reconsider a decision to hike the price of the Zimbabwean passport in South Africa. The price increase, which took effect on July 29, has sparked outrage among low-income earners who claim they cannot afford the new rate of $250.
The Zimbabwean consulate in Johannesburg announced that all passport applications would be handled as express applications and would cost $250 instead of the previous rate of $170. Organisations representing Zimbabweans in South Africa have called on the government to consider the financial burden this will place on low-income earners.
"We believe everyone, regardless of their economic conditions, has a right to their own nationality," said the petition. "We call upon the Zimbabwean government to reassess these fees and reduce them to a fair amount."
One Zimbabwean living in Cape Town, whose passport is expiring in the next two weeks, said he would have to courier his application to Zimbabwe to pay the old rate of $170. "I can’t afford the new price because I have a family to feed and rent to pay," he said.
Another Zimbabwean, an informal trader living in Gqeberha, described the government’s decision as "heartless." "We are suffering in foreign countries because of their mismanagement of our country and they now milk us dry like this," he said.
Chris Mapingure, chairman of the Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network, also expressed concern about the impact on low-income earners. "The majority of them do not have formal jobs. They’re earning less than R5,000 per month. Many people won’t afford this amount and a lot of people will remain undocumented," he said.
In response to the backlash, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi, explained that there are two passport prices: the ordinary passport that costs $170 and the express/emergency passport that is charged $250. However, all passport applications made in South Africa are now being handled as express/emergency applications.
"We have taken note of the reactions by our nationals in respect of the cost of the e-passport/express and we’re engaging our government to be aware of these responses," said Hamadziripi. "The Embassy in Pretoria and the Johannesburg and Cape Town Consulates implement government policies so when we have reactions from our citizens we make our government aware of these national concerns."
