The government intends to bring back home Zimbabweans living in South Africa who are in distress because of the neighbouring country’s lockdown.
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, Henry Hamadziripi told the Sunday News that the embassy and consulates countrywide had received distress calls that some Zimbabweans who are suffering and are willing to be repatriated. Said Hamadziripi:
We want to ascertain the numbers and locations of those who may be in need of this assistance and advise the authorities of our Government accordingly.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Consulate of Zimbabwe in Cape Town invited Zimbabweans who are willing to come back home to get in touch. The statement read:
The Consulate of Zimbabwe in Cape Town would like to know if there are any Zimbabwean nationals in distress during this lockdown and are willing to be repatriated home.
Last week a group of Zimbabweans living George, Western Cape Province, South Africa, told a Masvingo weekly publication, TellZim News, that they are now facing starvation with no help forthcoming from the South African government or the Zimbabwean consulate in Cape Town.