22 September 2015 - Travelling between South Africa and Lesotho will soon be easier for many Basotho. At least thats the idea from the Department of Home Affairs as it announced a special permit, similar to the one issued to Zimbabwean nationals.
JOHANNESBURG - Basotho who are living and working in South Africa without the right papers can now apply for a special permit.
Lesotho is the second Sadc country, after Zimbabwe whose nationals qualify for this permit.
The Lesotho Special Permit(LSP) allows Basotho to regularise their stay in South Africa.
More than half a million people are expected to apply when registrations open in March.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says the number could be less, same happened with Zim they expected millions but only 250,000 applied.
With Lesotho being one of South Africa&39;s major labour reserves, it&39;s calling on employers to assist in facilitating the process.
The departnebt says there are no plans to extend the permits to other SADC countries for now.
Home Affairs is hoping the process will run smoother than the Zimbabwean Special Permits exercise, which it says was marred by technical glitches and other administrative problems.
The department says it&39;s learnt some tough lessons from the past and will use the same resources, including opening additional visa facilitation centres.
