Johnathan Paoli
Home Affairs Director General Livhuwani Makhode has criticised the high court’s judgement and said that it “overemphasised the rights of children” when it overturned Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to scrap the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme in 2023.
The department filed papers on Thursday in the Constitutional Court in a bid to overturn the ruling.
In its ruling, the North Gauteng High Court found, among other things, that the termination of the ZEP programme affected “several established principles underpinning the best interests of a child”, and that the minister had failed to consider this.
Makhode said this was an error despite the court ultimately finding the Minister’s decision was “unreasonable”, pointing to the requirement for “an assessment of the ‘nature of the competing interest involved and the impact of the decision on the lives and well-being of those affected’.”
In the department’s application to the Constitutional Court, though,
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