Returnee crisis deepens

by SAVIOUS KWINIKA 
JOHANNNESBURG, (CAJ News) – NEARLY 100,000 Zimbabweans had returned home by mid-July following anti-foreigner campaigns in South Africa, triggering a humanitarian emergency at the border while exposing growing labour shortages in key South African industries.

Zimbabwe has recorded the largest influx of returning migrants since anti-immigrant protests, marches and intimidation intensified across parts of South Africa in June and July.

According to the Zimbabwean Government, almost 100,000 nationals had returned by 14 July, while humanitarian agencies estimate that more than 20,000 others are still waiting to leave South Africa.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Medical Corps (IMC), Zimbabwean authorities and humanitarian partners have launched an emergency response to assist returnees with food, healthcare, transport, shelter, protection and livelihood support.

The Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre, jointly managed by the Government of Zimbabwe, IOM and the United Nations, is struggling to cope with the influx, processing between 1,000 and 2,400 people daily.

South African humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has distributed more than 75,000 hot meals, while returnees are also receiving blankets, counselling and registration services.

The crisis is now reverberating across South Africa’s agricultural sector.

Sugarcane farmers in KwaZulu-Natal have reported severe labour shortages following the departure of documented and undocumented foreign workers, many of whom were employed on commercial farms.

Pratish Sharma, a sugarcane farmer near Tongaat and chairperson of the Maidstone Local Grower Council, said some producers were unable to harvest their crops because they could not replace departing workers.

One neighbouring farmer lost around 100 cane cutters but had managed to recruit only about 20 replacements, highlighting the scale of the labour gap.

Although Tongaat Hulett’s Maidstone Mill continues operating with cane supplied from other production areas, Sharma warned that milling operations could eventually be disrupted if labour shortages persist.

The humanitarian crisis has also reignited debate over xenophobia and migration in southern Africa.

Human rights activist Elinor Sisulu described reports of attacks on foreign nationals as only the “tip of the iceberg”, urging regional leaders to respond urgently to the growing crisis.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe continues to grapple with domestic political and socio-economic challenges.

Opposition figures have vowed to challenge Constitutional Amendment No. 3 through the courts, while critics argue it further strengthens executive authority.

The country is also facing mounting public health concerns, with officials reporting more than 6,100 neonatal deaths and 563 maternal deaths during 2025.

Malaria infections have surged this year, trend health experts partly attribute to informal gold mining, which has created mosquito breeding sites across affected communities.

The overlapping crises underscore the mounting humanitarian and economic pressures confronting both Zimbabwe and South Africa.

– CAJ News