Permit holders protected till a minimum of June 2024
An pressing utility introduced by the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) to guard the rights of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders was dismissed by the Pretoria High Court. The court docket mentioned the applying was not wanted and confirmed the validity of the ZEPs and protections afforded to allow holders till a minimum of June 2024 regardless of the Minister of Home Affairs cancelling the ZEP. However, the court docket mentioned the minister’s powers to cancel the ZEP programme had not been usurped however put aside quickly. An pressing utility introduced by the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) to guard the rights of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders was dismissed by the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, as a result of the judges mentioned there was no want in legislation for it.
Judges Colleen Collis, Gcina Malindi and Mandlenkosi Motha mentioned their earlier ruling in June this 12 months, which gave 178,000 ZEP holders safety for 12 months whereas the Minister of Home Affairs performed a good and rational inquiry into the affect of any termination of the programme, remained operative despite makes an attempt by the minister to enchantment it.
The judges mentioned the muse and its co-applicant, the Consortium for Refugee and Migrants in South Africa, had been asking of their pressing utility for “what they already have by operation of law”.
The HSF sought an “enforcement order” after the minister indicated he was intent on interesting the June ruling by petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) after he did not get go away to enchantment from the Pretoria court docket.
Read the judgment right here.
HSF believed that this meant the judgment could be robotically suspended, which might put ZEP holders susceptible to deportation whereas the enchantment course of performed out with the permits set to run out in December 2023.
The pressing court docket motion got here after the minister twice refused to abide by the court docket’s ruling pending enchantment, the HSF mentioned.
The minister in his purposes for go away to enchantment and within the pressing utility has flip-flopped as as to if the June ruling was “temporary” or closing.
This issues as a result of a short lived ruling will not be robotically suspended on enchantment.
The three judges mentioned their June judgment was not a closing order and its intention was to protect the established order.
“The rights of the ZEP holders as acknowledged within the order should not definitive, firstly, in that they’re topic to the dedication by the minister and could also be altered when the minister has performed a good listening to … The minister’s powers haven’t been usurped. His determination [to cancel the ZEP programme from December 2023] has been put aside quickly.
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“For this reason, it is found that the minister’s contention that the interim order has the effect of a final judgment is rejected.”
The judges declined to grant a declarator – that the ZEP programme stay intact till all appeals are exhausted – as a result of, they mentioned, it will be the third time that it will be making such a declaration, having made it clear within the June judgment and in dismissing the minister’s utility for go away to enchantment to the SCA.
“The minister’s stance is to obey the court orders while he proceeds with his appeals,” they mentioned.
“There is no need for a duplication of this protection,” they mentioned, dismissing the applying and making no order as to prices.
In an announcement, the HSF mentioned it welcomed the court docket’s affirmation of the validity of the ZEPs and protections afforded to allow holders till a minimum of June 2024.
However, the minister has put a special spin on the ruling.
In an announcement he mentioned, “In essence, HSF and CORMSA sought the judgment whereby the court docket will concern an order to compel the division to implement the adversarial judgment no matter any subsequent enchantment by the minister in any court docket.
“This judgment must serve as a wake-up call to the affected Zimbabwean nationals to follow the procedures outlined by the minister to regularise their stay in the Republic and forget about false promises.”
