APA-Pretoria (South Africa) Zimbabweans with special exemption permits to live and work in South Africa received another lifeline on Wednesday when the Pretoria High Court declared as “unlawful, unconstitutional and irrational” the decision by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to cancel the permits.
More than 178,000 holders of Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs) had been given until the end of December 2023 to regularise their stay in South Africa or leave the country following a Department of Home Affairs decision two years ago to cancel the ZEP arrangement.
The court, however, ruled in a case brought by the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa that the existing ZEPs should be deemed to remain valid until 30 June 2024 on the ground that the minister did not follow “a fair process that complies with the requirements”.
The department was found wanting in its application of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, which requires administrative decisions to be clear and give adequate notice to those affected.
Section 4(1) of the act says that where an administrative decision “materially and adversely affects the rights of the public”, an administrator owes a duty of fairness to the public at large. This would include the administrator holding public hearings or obtaining written comment on a decision.
The court also found that the department did not consider the impact the decision would have on the rights of those affected, especially children.
The ZEPs were introduced in 2009 and have been extended several times by the Department of Home Affairs.
The department announced its decision to terminate the ZEP regime in November 2021 and gave ZEP holders a grace period until 31 December 2022.
The deadline was further extended by six months until 30 June this year.
JN/APA