More than 1,100 people have signed a petition calling on the Zimbabwean government to review its decision to increase passport fees by almost 50%.
On 26 July, the Zimbabwean consulate in Johannesburg announced that the price of a passport would increase from $170 (about R3,100) to $250 (about R4,540).
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“The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has directed that all applications for e-passports being processed at the Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, be processed as express/emergency applications in terms of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2024,” the consulate said.
“This effectively means that the passport application fees for the Express/Emergency passport will be USD 250.00, charged at the USD/ZAR exchange rate in effect as of Monday, 29 July 2024.”
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The Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, which aims to represent the interests of Zimbabweans, launched a petition on July 30.
The petition read: “This fee is far beyond what many Zimbabwean citizens in South Africa can afford, given the average income of our community. It is an overwhelming burden that prevents us from obtaining our legal documents, which are an integral part of our fundamental human rights. We believe that everyone, regardless of their economic status, has the right to their own nationality. We call on the Zimbabwean government to re-evaluate these fees and reduce them to a fair amount.”
The petition had gathered more than 1,100 signatures as of Friday morning, August 2.
The President of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, Ngqabutho Mabhena, said:
“The Zimbabwean passport is very expensive. The government wants to use it as a tool to raise money.”
A Zimbabwean living in Cape Town whose passport expires in two weeks said he would process his application for a new passport at the consulate in Cape Town but would send the application by courier to Zimbabwe so he could pay the old fee of $170.
“I can’t afford the new price because I have a family to feed and rent to pay,” she said.
“The Zimbabwean government is heartless,” said another Zimbabwean, an informal trader living in Gqeberha. “We are suffering in foreign countries because of their mismanagement of our country, and now they are squeezing us dry like this.”
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Chris Mapingure, chair of the Zimbabwe Migrant Support Network, said the Zimbabwe government should consider low-income people in South Africa.
“Most of them do not have formal jobs. They earn less than R5 000 a month. Many people cannot afford that amount and many will remain undocumented.”
Zimbabwean Ambassador's Response
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi, responding to a request for comment from GroundUp, explained that there are two prices for passports: “The first is the ordinary passport which costs USD 170 and the second is the express/emergency passport which costs USD 250.”
But all passport applications made in South Africa are now processed as express/emergency.
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“We have taken note of our citizens’ feedback regarding the cost of the e-passport/express passport and we are engaging our government to be aware of these responses,” Hamadziripi said.
“The Embassy in Pretoria and the Consulates in Johannesburg and Cape Town implement government policies, so when we receive feedback from our citizens, we make our government aware of these national concerns.”