Zimbabwe: Govt Says 15,000 of 108,000 Returnees From South Africa Already Registered for Employment

What the report says

New Zimbabwe, in a report distributed by AllAfrica, says Zimbabwean authorities have registered 15,065 returnees from South Africa for possible employment support as part of a wider reintegration programme. The report, dated 22 July 2026, cites a post-Cabinet briefing in which Information Minister Soda Zhemu said the number of Zimbabweans who have come back under the current repatriation effort had risen to more than 108,000.

According to the minister, by 18 July 2026, 33,855 people had been brought back through government-organised arrangements, while an estimated 74,511 returned on their own. The government also recorded 791 self-repatriations through Botswana border points including Plumtree, Mphoengs, Maitengwe and Mlambapele. Authorities have used 416 bus trips from the Beitbridge Repatriation Centre to move people onward to destinations inside Zimbabwe.

The government says its reintegration approach covers social, economic and cultural support. A skills registration exercise is intended to help match returnees with work opportunities, with occupations identified across 52 categories. The article says the most common skills recorded so far include domestic work, bricklaying and farming. It also reports that a clinic at the Beitbridge reception centre has provided health services to 1,474 returnees since the exercise began.

The development matters because large-scale returns from South Africa can place pressure on border facilities, local services and labour systems in Zimbabwe, while also creating a need for documentation, transport, healthcare and livelihoods support. The report does not detail the reasons for each return or provide outcomes for those registered for employment.