Key Points:

  • Migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa is driven by the political instability and economic decline in Zimbabwe.
  • Although no authoritative figures are available, estimates of the number of Zimbabweans in South Africa range as high as 3 million.
  • In the period of January-June 2007, 102 413 illegal immigrants were repatriated to Zimbabwe.
  • The increasing migration flows from Zimbabwe are exacerbating and dramatizing already existing inadequacies of regional migration management.
  • Given that the South African government views most Zimbabweans as economic migrants, it is clear that an economic policy solution is needed.

Op-ed: Government not facing up to the realities of an exodus