APA-Pretoria (South Africa) Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for an order allowing him to appeal against last month’s ruling by the court declaring as illegal his decision to terminate special work permits for Zimbabweans, APA learnt here Friday.
The Gauteng High Court in June ordered Motsoaledi’s ministry to extend until the end of the year the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs) that have allowed undocumented Zimbabwean immigrants to legally stay in the country.
The court argued that Motsoaledi had, among other things, failed to consult all stakeholders –Including ZEP holders – before coming up with the decision to terminate the dispensation.
The permits, which were due to end on June 30, were extended for a further six months until 31 December 2023.
Motsoaledi has filed an application at the high court for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
According to court papers filed by his lawyers, the minister is arguing that the court erred in concluding that his decision required compliance with a section of the Promotion of Administration of Justice Act that requires public officials to consult when dealing with issues that have a general impact.
“The decision to not call public participation was justifiable. First, the decision affected a specific category of persons, not the public. Second, such a decision is not administrative action and is voluntary,” Motsoaledi submitted in his papers.
He added that the court failed to consider that representative groups, such as the Scalabrini Centre, African Amity, Freedoms Advocate and Zimbabwean Diaspora Association, were consulted after the decision was made.
The extension offers a lifeline to some 250,000 ZEP holders who had been given up to June 30 to regularise their stay in the country or face deportation.
The extension comes as the Department of Home Affairs has been struggling to process visa applications for the Zimbabweans.
JN/APA