Motsoaledi sticks to guns on latest ZEP extension

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has stood by his decision to extend the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) for another six months, despite mounting backlash.

Addressing the portfolio committee on home affairs yesterday, Motsoaledi said the department has been seeing at least 1 000-1 500 applications a day since June.

He blamed the rumours about a dismissal of the “concept” following a court initiated by the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders Association (Zepha).

Last week, Motsoaledi announced the extension but various organisations accused him of failing to protect South Africans, while some called for the concept to be scrapped altogether.

‘Avalanche of applications’

Operation Dudula’s Zandile Dabula said Motsoaledi’s decision was “an act of cowardice and outright betrayal of the citizens”.

She added: “When the department of home affairs announced the deadline, all permit holders were encouraged to immediately apply for other types of relevant and requisite visas.

“They elected not to apply because they wanted an extension, thus the likes of the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) took the matter to court.”

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Dabula said Operation Dudula’s view was that Motsoaledi sold out.

However, Motsoaledi told the committee “an avalanche of applications started coming in within a space of weeks left”.

He said they realised they could not tackle all the applications within the allocated period.

“The problem is quite a large number of people ignored these applications, I believe it’s because they were discouraged from applying by people who believed we would be forced to throw out the concept,” he added.

‘Unlawful’

Organisations such as Zepha, HSF and the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation, took Motsoaledi to court in a bid to overturn the decision to scrap the ZEP.

Zepha said the 7 June decision to extend the ZEP for a third time proves the government’s initial decision to end exemptions was “ill-conceived, unreasonable, procedurally unfair, unconstitutional and, thereby, unlawful”.

“There is no lawful reason why ZEP holders should apply twice for one visa or permit,” it said.

ZEP holders have been in SA for more than 10 years and they argue the Immigration Act allows them to apply for permanent residence after five years in the country.

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