Cape Town – Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, has directed his legal representatives to file an application for leave to appeal the ruling that deemed the decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) as unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid.
The judgment was handed down by the Gauteng division of the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
It declared the government’s decision not to renew temporary residency permits of nearly 180 000 Zimbabweans living and working in the country “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid”.
The government granted four-year visas to around 178 000 Zimbabweans fleeing economic and political crises at home in 2009, following violent elections.
The visas have been repeatedly extended.
But in 2021 the government said there would be no further extension after December 2022, opening the way for a mass expulsion of workers.
ALSO READ | Motsoaledi extends ZEP deadline again
A South African rights and democracy NGO, the Helen Suzman Foundation, then took the government to court challenging the decision to terminate the permits.
The court ruled the government’s decision “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid”.
It referred the matter back to the minister, urging him to consider it again through a fair process that complies with relevant legislation.
In a statement, Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Siya Qoza, said the minister has carefully studied the judgment and taken legal advice on it.
“The two judgments cannot go unchallenged as they set a dangerous precedent in that the finding of the court on the applicability or otherwise of sections 3 and 4 of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act is highly questionable, particularly the requirement for public participation, when a decision of this nature is taken, affecting a specified category of persons only. In this instance, the affected Zimbabwean nationals.
“The minister will be challenging the outcome of this matter on appeal.
“The minister has already instructed the legal representatives to launch an application for leave to appeal against the judgments and orders of the court without any further delay,” said Qoza
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional information by AFP
