The home affairs department will achieve the June 30 deadline set for the documentation of Zimbabweans living in South Africa, an official said on Wednesday.

"I can confidently say that we will reach that target," director of the Zimbabwe Documentation Project, Jacob Mamabolo, told Sapa.

He said the department held regular meetings with some 19 Zimbabwean stakeholders including that country's government.

He said these had played an important role in the documentation project as they highlighted issues that the department was not aware of.

"All the stakeholders appreciated the project, but asked for better communication between the department and the South African Police Service," said Mamabolo.

He said there were plans to engage with the various stakeholders until the project was completed.

Mamabolo stated that deportations would start once it was completed.

"Those who will be waiting for their permits will be given a 30-day grace period from July 1 to July 31.

"[From] August 1 the department will be in a position to commence with deportation," said Mamabolo.

The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) thanked to South Africa for its "ability to appreciate the plight of Zimbabweans in this country".

ZEF executive director Gabriel Shumba called on the Zimbabwean government to assist South Africa in the project.
The home affairs department received 275 762 applications from Zimbabweans who wanted to legalise their stay in the country.

In April last year Pretoria announced a moratorium on the deportation of Zimbabweans and granted them a special dispensation for one year so that they could get documents from Zimbabwean officials based in South Africa.

The dispensation was to allow them to normalise their stay in South Africa.