Around 178 000 Zimbabwean citizens living and working in South Africa sighed a sigh of relief when the Pretoria High Court ruled that the minister of home affairs’ decision to cancel the Zimbabwean exemption permits (ZEP) was unlawful.
About the ZEP
According to the court ruling, the ZEP system was introduced in 2009 by the minister of home affairs after the political and economic instability Zimbabwe faced which caused an exodus into South Africa,
The role of the permits was to provide undocumented expatriates with work and study permits which had to be renewed every four years.
However, the permits could only be given to Zimbabweans with a valid “Zimbabwean passport, who had proof of employment, or registration at an educational institution, or proof of running a business,” the ruling explained on page 10.
“The programme had as its aim to regularise the legal status of Zimbabweans residing in South Africa, curbing the deportation of Zimbabweans, who were in South Africa legally, reducing pressure on the asylum seeker and refugee regime, and providing amnesty to Zimbabweans who obtained South African documents fraudulently.”
However, in November 2021, the department announced that the ZEP will be terminated, but will give holders a 12-month grace, extending its validity to 31 December 2022, when it was extended again to 30 June 2023 for a final time.
The ruling
The court ruling – which the Breederiver Gazette has consulted – was reached on 28 June, and also gave Zimbabwean citizens a 12-month reprieve should their permit have expired rather than to be arrested or deported over an expired permit as home affairs originally declared.
According to the 67-page ruling, where the Helen Suzman Foundation and consortium for refugees and migrants in South Africa were the first and second applicant, Zimbabweans have enjoyed the benefits of these programmes since 2009, as they granted them the opportunity to study, work and build a life in South Africa, which would not have been possible in their home country.
Judge Colleen Collis wrote in the judgement that the decision taken by the current minister of home affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, “was taken without prior notice to or consultation with ZEP-holders and the public”.
It is not the first and second applicant’s aim to end the termination of the ZEP programme, but rather to force Motsoaledi to comply with a fair process before doing so, which includes a public participation process.
On page 63 of the ruling Collis stated that the process the government followed to terminate the ZEP is “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid”.
The way forward
The High Court ruled that the validity of existing ZEP’s will remain valid for another 12 months, and that the holders will enjoy the benefits of the immigration directive which preempts deportation or arrestation. Collis also ordered the “first respondent and any other parties” against the ruling to pay the legal costs.
