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By Staff Reporter
A
ZIMBABWEAN minister has claimed that South African officials are "confused"
after reports of a relaxation of visa requirements were denied by the
South Africans.
Zimbabwe wants South Africa to scrap the visa requirement, but South African officials say there has been no agreement on this issue yet.
Zimbabwean officials claimed that South Africa had relaxed tough visa requirements following a meeting of the Zimbabwe-South Africa joint permanent commission on defence and security.
But the South Africans issued a swift denial saying their government had "at no stage agreed to waive visa requirements for Zimbabwean nationals".
Such a decision would have been highly controversial. High unemployment and food shortages in Zimbabwe have forced many Zimbabweans to cross the border into South Africa. This has raised concerns about crime and job security.
During a parliamentary debate last week, Zimbabwe's deputy Home Affairs Minister Reuben Marumahoko insisted that at the joint security meeting held in Victoria Falls, the two countries had resolved to scrap visas.
Marumaho said: "It seems there is confusion on the South African side between ministers and officials. They do not seem to be working together. The pronouncement came from the minister of defence, not from the minister of home affairs. So when the minister of home affairs came, he said the issue needed to be debated further by the two countries."
The deputy minister added: "It is true that there was a pronouncement that visas were withdrawn but later they backtracked."
No comment was
immediately available from South Africa's Home Affairs Department.
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