The South African Department of Home Affairs on Monday issued a last minute appeal to those Zimbabweans in the country without valid residency papers to take steps to regularize their status during the four days until a December 31 deadline.
Home Affairs Department Spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa told journalists in Johannesburg that Zimbabweans who have not taken steps to apply for a residency permit should by all means to visit a documentation center as soon as possible.
He repeated that authorities will not extend the deadline.
Sources said hundreds of Zimbabweans have flocked to centers in Johannesburg seeking to fulfill minimum bureaucratic requirments for a safe haven against deportation.
Remember Moyo, chairman in South Africa of the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, said of his countrymen and women are taking last minute steps to start regularizing their residency status.