Bernadette Wicks9 March 2024 | 7:57

CORMSA 'not surprised' by Home Affairs Dept's escalation of ZEP termination battle to ConCourt

CORMSA said the Department of Home Affairs should've implemented the High Court judgment so that a conclusion is speedily reached on the matter.

CORMSA 'not surprised' by Home Affairs Dept's escalation of ZEP termination battle to ConCourt

FILE: Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. Picture: GCIS.

JOHANNESBURG - The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CORMSA) says it is not surprised that Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has taken his fight to scrap the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme to the Constitutional Court.

In 2023, the High Court in Pretoria declared as unconstitutional Motsoaledi’s decision to terminate the ZEP programme. 

The court found there hadn’t been proper public consultation.

After two unsuccessful appeal bids in the same court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, Motsoaledi has now turned to the country’s apex court to try and overturn the ruling.

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The High Court judgment came on the back of a case brought by the CORMSA, together with the Helen Suzman Foundation.

"We are not surprised by this action as we have witnessed and realised that the Department of Home Affairs is willing to pursue this matter legally instead of implementing the High Court judgment that was issued that provided guidance in terms of the process and procedure that the department needs to follow to reach its conclusion on this matter," said the consortium’s Thifulufheli Sinthumule.

Sinthumule says CORMSA is still studying its options, but will in all likelihood, be opposing the application.