APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday appealed against a June court ruling that declared unlawful his ministry’s decision to terminate special permits allowing thousands of Zimbabweans to work and study legally in the country.
The Pretoria High Court in June upheld a challenge by the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees in South Africa against Motsoaledi’s decision to end the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme, ruling that the move was unlawful and unconstitutional.
However, the ministry last week filed an appeal with the same court, with a hearing set for Monday.
The two organisations argued at the time that the minister’s decision was made without consulting the affected people.
If successful, the appeal would affect about 180,000 ZEP holders who face deportation if they cannot find alternative legal permission to live in South Africa.
In November 2021, the South African government announced it would no longer extend the validity of ZEPs, which were set to expire in December 2021 but granted a 12-month grace period until December 2022.
This was then extended to June 2023 to give people time to apply for other visas to remain in South Africa. It has now been extended by another six months.
JN/APA