Call for extension of Lesotho Special Permit deadline
Less than 2% of Lesotho nationals have applied so far
Immigrant rights group People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) has called for an extension of the deadline for the Lesotho Special Permit.
PASSOP wants the deadline extended from 30 June 2016 to 30 September 2016 to allow more Lesotho nationals to regularise their stay in South Africa.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, of the the 400,000 to 500,000 Lesotho nationals in South Africa, only 5,694 have successfully applied since the programme was launched in February this year.
This was less than 2% of the Lesotho nationals in SA, said PASSOP director Bernard Toyambi.
“It will be unrealistic to complete the process by 30 June 2016,” he said.
Toyambi said there were 3,500 Lesotho nationals working permanently and another 1,500 seasonal workers in the area, but they had not been properly informed about the special permit. PASSOP’s Owen Maromo, who has been assisting Lesotho nationals in De Doorns with applications, only 14 out of the 5,000 Lesotho nationals in De Doorns had applied.
