Cape Town - Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has instructed his legal representatives to launch an application for leave to appeal against the judgment that found the decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
The judgment was handed down by the Gauteng division of the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
This is after the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa challenged Motsoaledi's December 2021 decision not to renew the ZEP.
In a statement, Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Siya Qoza, said the minister has carefully studied the judgment and taken legal advice on it.
“The two judgments cannot go unchallenged as they set a dangerous precedent in that the finding of the court on the applicability or otherwise of sections 3 and 4 of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act is highly questionable, particularly the requirement for public participation, when a decision of this nature is taken, affecting a specified category of persons only. In this instance, the affected Zimbabwean nationals.
“The minister will be challenging the outcome of this matter on appeal.
“The minister has already instructed the legal representatives to launch an application for leave to appeal against the judgments and orders of the court without any further delay,” said Qoza
Meanwhile, HSF executive director, Nicole Fritz, said the judgment is of “huge” significance for the approximately 178 000 ZEP holders who have lived in South Africa legally for almost 15 years, finding that they are entitled to fair process, due consultation and clear reason, demonstrating good cause, when decisions of calamitous moment are made regarding their lives and livelihoods.
“But the decision is also one of ordinariness, for on these issues our laws and Constitution have long been clear. Where the exercise of public power will have a drastic effect on the rights, lives and livelihoods of any persons, it cannot rationally be made without affording the affected persons an opportunity to make representations,” added Fritz.
Cape Times