STAFF REPORTER
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says he will challenge the High Court ruling that declared unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid the decision by Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).
In a statement issued on Thursday Motsoaledi says he 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.
Motsoaledi believes that the decision he took was correct and took into consideration all the interests and rights implicated, including those of children.
The full court delivered the judgments in the Helen Suzman Foundation vs the Minister of Home Affairs with the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa case.
Motsoaledi said the judgment cannot go unchallenged as “they (court) 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”.
He added that he took the decision to extend the Zimbabwean exemptions taking into account the policy considerations which fall within the domain of the executive.
“It is not clear as to what is the purpose of the interdict when in fact the Minister issued directives to ensure that the affected Zimbabwean nationals continue to enjoy the protections afforded by the directives. The last Minister’s Immigration Directive was issued on 7 June 2023,” Motsoaledi added.
Motsoaledi said since he took the decision, no Zimbabwean national has been threatened in any manner whatsoever and/or deported.
“They continue to enjoy freedom of movement between South Africa and Zimbabwe and anywhere, as pleaded in the affidavits filed in court on behalf of the Minister showing significant movements to and from Zimbabwe by the affected Zimbabwean nationals and their families,” he said.
Spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs Siya Qoza said the Minister would do everything in his power to ensure that the Immigration Laws of the Republic of South Africa are enforced without fear or favour.
One of the civil society organisations that took the Department of Home Affairs to court, the Helen Suzman Foundation’s Head of Legal Programmes Naseema Fakir said the civil society formations are hoping that the public consultations into the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits will be fair and transparent.
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