SA govt tells Zim lecturers on exemption permits their services ‘no longer required’

Several Zimbabwean and Lesotho lecturers on exemption permits allowing them to work in SA have been told their services are no longer required by the department of higher education. They head to court this week to have their dismissals set aside as unlawful.

The Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Holders Association (Zepha) said this is the latest salvo in a campaign to rid South Africa of Zimbabweans, even though most have been working in SA for more than a decade.

The Zimbabwe exemption permit (ZEP) system was introduced more than a decade ago to regularise the status of Zimbabweans illegally in SA due to political and economic hardships at home. The department of home affairs last year announced the ZEP system would be terminated in June 2023 and ZEP holders would have to apply for “regular” SA visas.

Critical skills list designed to exclude Zimbabweans

Zepha argued that home affairs’ critical skills list, which determines the skills needed to apply for regular visas, is designed to exclude the majority of ZEP holders, most of whom are in artisan and lower-skilled trades.

The department’s decision to end the ZEP system is being challenged in three separate court cases, all claiming it will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe that will encompass the entire region.

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This comes just weeks after Zepha approached the High Court in Pretoria, claiming the children of ZEP holders who had grown up in SA were being denied registration at schools. In that case, the respondents were the ministers and departments of basic education and home affairs.

The government backed down in March and the court ordered that children of ZEP holders be given 10 days to register for school.

Now, lecturers with ZEP permits at higher education institutions in SA are being “let go” by the department of higher education, according to Zepha.

In one letter of dismissal seen by Moneyweb, a senior lecturer and ZEP holder is told his contract expires on 31 March. No reason is given. Zepha said it was clearly because the lecturer is on a ZEP permit.

“Zepha just instructed our legal team to approach the high court to review and set aside the decision by the department of higher education to let go of several ZEP holders who were employed as lecturers at academic institutions in SA,” said advocate Simba Chitando, for Zepha.

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“Targeting ZEP holders for dismissal from employment at higher education institutions is obviously unlawful. Considering the role SA higher education institutions play in the region, it will hurt the continent.”

Lesotho citizens in the crosshairs

Equally disturbing, said Chitando, was that Lesotho citizens are now in the crosshairs. Several Lesotho nationals working in SA under the Lesotho exemption permit, which is similar to the ZEP system, have likewise been told by the department of higher education their services are no longer required.

“The SA government has turned its back on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

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“A solid case can be made by the citizens of Southern Africa to ask its leaders to cause the removal of SA from SADC.”

The three organisations challenging the decision by the department of home affairs to end the ZEP system are Zepha, the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation.

Chitando said Zimbabweans faced growing xenophobia in SA, orchestrated by the government.

This article was republished from Moneyweb