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ZEP discontinuation: Judgement reserved in Helen Suzman Foundationâ€™s challenge

Source: EWN, 13/04/2023

The ZEP allows Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa and has been in place in various forms since 2009.
JOHANNESBURG - Judgment has been reserved in the Helen Suzman Foundationâ€™s challenge against the discontinuation of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme.
The ZEP allows Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa and has been in place in various forms since 2009.
But Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi decided to discontinue the ZEP.
The decision has been met with widespread backlash and is currently the subject of multiple court challenges.
The first challenge was brought by the Helen Suzman Foundation together with the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa and got underway before a full bench of the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the court heard from advocate Ismail Jamie for the Department of Home Affairs who argued to the effect that the ministerâ€™s decision isnâ€™t reviewable because it didnâ€™t strip ZEP holders of any rights, it in fact vested them with more rights.
Jamie maintained that the ZEP programme was due to expire anyway and that the minister had, in fact, extended the protection ZEP holders enjoyed for an additional grace period of 18 months to allow them to get their affairs in order.
But in response, counsel for the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa said the termination of the ZEP programme remains an adverse decision.
They also responded to Jamieâ€™s argument that it would have been impossible to consult the 178,000-odd ZEP holders ahead of the decision which is what the Helen Suzman Foundation and the consortium said should have been done.
Theyâ€™ve highlighted that the minister managed to write to all the permit holders to inform them that the programme was coming to an end and said even if it was impossible, civil society should have at least been consulted.
Judgment has been reserved.
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