‘In the first place, the government went beyond their legislated mandate to give such permits because there is no legislation that allows them to do such, not even the Immigration Act… the extension of the permit is a further illegal attempt by the government and that’s what we will be arguing in court.”

These were the words of  Kenny Kunene, secretary-general of the Patriotic Alliance, arguing against the decision by the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, to extend the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) by six months to 30 June 2023. 

This follows Motsoaledi’s 2 September announcement that the government has “implemented the decision to extend Zimbabwean nationals’ exemption permits in terms of section 31(2)(b) of the Immigration Act of 2002”. Initially, the ZEP was to expire by 31 December.

He said the extension is to allow holders of the ZEP to apply for one of the visas provided for by the Immigration Act.

The decision has been welcomed by the Helen Suzman Foundation and the Zimbabwean community in South Africa, who have both long been challenging the scrapping of the ZEP.

Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation Nicole Fritz said, “Despite the extension, which we welcome to the extent it gives individual ZEP holders some relief, our legal challenge continues… none of the fundamental defects in the Minister’s underlying decision — failure to consult and hear representations, the absence of sound reasons and the absence of meaningful opportunity for ZEP holders to regularise their status, is cured by the extension.”

Extension welcomed

A member of the Zimbabwean community in South Africa, Nqabutho Mabhena, said they welcomed the extension of the ZEP.

“This will give a chance to those who are still struggling to apply to submit their applications. We also believe that during this grace period we will get advice from the Department of Home Affairs on how to assist individuals who are in low-paying jobs. 

“The majority of ZEP-holders are people who work as domestic workers, construction workers and Uber drivers, and they do not qualify under the current Immigration Act to move to other visas. We hope that the department will assist with information in that regard.

“ZEP holders have been part of the South African economy for almost 12 years… Some of these people are in their 40s and 50s. We think it will be appropriate if they were to be allowed to continue living in South Africa if they feel so, to an extent that they can be granted an extension to their permit or permanent residence. But it’s all up to the South African government.”

Many Zimbabweans have been reluctant to apply for the new visa regime offered by the South African government. At least 6,000 ZEP holders out of  178,000 have renewed their permits or applied for visas. The reluctance to apply for the other visa regimes is because of the complicated application process.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Frantic scramble as December deadline looms for 178,000 Zimbabwean Exemption Permit holders”

Mabhena said most holders of the ZEP were struggling to get the proper information from the department of home affairs on what visas people should apply for.

“In terms of the Immigration Act, domestic workers for instance cannot apply for any permit in South Africa. This is why we need guidance and the reason why in 2010 people were granted these special permits, because they could not apply for other permits.”

However, the PA and Operation Dudula have slammed the department’s action.

According to Kunene, the PA wants to undo “what government did wrong in the first place” and deport those who need to be deported — illegal immigrants.

“We have decided to first start with the legal route because we think it will yield better results. Whether we win or lose after we have exhausted all avenues in the legal route, we will be protesting.” 

The PA is endorsing a call to “get rid of foreigners”, something that is also supported by Operation Dudula, an anti-immigrant group determined to chase mostly Zimbabweans out of South Africa. 

We will fight your nonsense decision to extend permits of Zimbabweans, and we will announce the dates for all of us Patriotic citizens to hit the streets. We can’t wait until 2024, we must act now, #PutSouthAficansFirst , Dudula, @OnsBaizaNie let’s do this 👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽

— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) September 4, 2022

Commenting on the PA’s position in relation to anti-immigrant groups such as Operation Dudula and Put South Africans First, Kunene said, “I don’t think they are anti-immigrant groups… They are activist movements against illegal immigration.

“Our association with Operation Dudula and Put South Africans First is based on the patriotic stance that we have in terms of the illegal immigrants. By virtue of saying illegal, it means they have committed a crime against the country, so they must go back.

“It starts and ends there,” said Kunene.

In a 3 September tweet, Operation Dudula slammed the department’s extension of the permit, saying that government could not extend what it called “national Sjambok Day of 31 December 2022”.

Dear ANC……You cannot extend national Sjambok Day of 31 December 2022…. Come 1 January 2023 no Zimbabwean will walk these streets freely… 31 June 2023 we go for the Nigerian Drug lords pic.twitter.com/xysLoKLVYD

— Operation Dudula (@OperationDudula) September 2, 2022

DM