South Africa to evict more than 10,000 Zimbabwean farm workers

South Africa plans to evict more than 10,000 Zimbabweans working on farms in the northern part of the country because their work permits had expired, AP reported on Wednesday, quoting a government official. The measure was necessary to encourage farmers to hire South African workers, thousands of whom needed jobs, said Billy Masetlha, the director-general of the home affairs department.

Farmer organisations complained it would be impossible for them to find suitable replacement staff by Monday, the deadline to replace their Zimbabwean workers. Masetlha said the government had signed an agreement with the farmers on 15 October last year to phase out the use of the workers from Zimbabwe, South Africa's northern neighbour.

Last week major-general Tinus van Rensburg, a senior South African Defence Force officer in the region, warned that serious problems could arise if the government pressed ahead with its plans to expel the Zimbabweans, who could find it difficult to return to their own country. Thousands of farm workers in Zimbabwe have been displaced since March last year, when government-backed militants embarked on a violent campaign to seize white-owned farms.

Masetlha said the government had no plans to renew the Zimbabweans' work permits and that those who remained in the country would be arrested. Farmers wanting to employ foreigners would have to prove their job could not be done by a South African, he said.