The Pretoria High Court has reserved judgment in the challenge by the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) against Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to end the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) system.
The decision to end the ZEP system has left the lives of around 178 000 Zimbabweans who are living and working in South Africa hanging in the balance.
The ZEP, which allowed Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa, has been in place since 2009.
The permit was first introduced under the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) to help people who had fled the economic and political turmoil in their home country.
However, Motsoaledi announced his decision to terminate the ZEP in December 2021.
In fighting for the rights of ZEP permit holders to remain in the country, the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) filed an application in court in which the human rights organisation argued that the minister’s decision was “procedurally unfair and irrational”.
As such, it is invalid and should be reviewed and reversed, the Foundation said.
Motsoaledi is opposing the matter.
HSF advocate Steven Budlender argued that the minister's treatment of ZEP holders had been procedurally unfair and irrational for two reasons: Motsoaledi had ended the ZEP system without consulting with the public and the affected permit holders, and he had only called for input after gazetting his decision.
Budlender added that the decision also had to comply with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
"Procedural rationality under the principle of legality required that ZEP holders and the public be afforded a hearing,” Budlender said.
“The foundation also argued that the decision was taken without the minister considering the impact it would have on the lives of ZEP holders, their children, and the broader public."
According to Budlender, the effect of the decision is that tens of thousands of ZEP holders will be left undocumented in June 2023 due to legal and practical barriers to securing alternative visas and permits.
He called for a temporary order pending the conclusion of a fair process and for an order declaring that the existing ZEPs should be deemed valid.
