LAWYERS representing about 180 000 Zimbabwean special exemption permit (ZEP) holders in South Africa yesterday said they were planning to mount a fresh appeal to protect their clients’ rights following the expiry of the documents next week, the Zimbabwe Independent can report.
Anxiety has gripped Zimbabweans in South Africa, with many
now fearing that their children learning in that country would be affected in
the absence of legal guarantees.
Court papers detailing Zimbabweans’ concerns will be lodged
with the South African courts on Tuesday next week, according to Simba
Chitando, an advocate representing Zimbabweans affected by a change of
immigration policy in South Africa.
Ahead of the expiry of the SEP documents on December 31, Zimbabweans
held a crisis meeting to discuss how they will navigate the aftermath of the
deadline.
Chitando, who chaired the virtual meeting that was
addressed by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Pretoria David Hamadziripi, said ZEP
holders were making frantic efforts to see how to be assisted if applications
to stay in that country are turned down.
Under the plan announced by the South African government
last month, ZEP holders will get a one-year grace period to regularise their
stay in South Africa, after which those whose applications would have failed
are required to return home.
However, there is no guarantee that all of them will be
successful, and, for many of them, the thought of returning home to face an
imploding economy has been difficult.
In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent yesterday,
Chitando confirmed that his team was mounting an urgent application.
“The court application has to do with making sure that the
South African government guarantees the rights of ZEP holders after December
31, 2021,” Chitando said.
“I can also confirm that I chaired a meeting between the
Zimbabwean Ambassador and leaders of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holder
Association, together with other prominent leaders in both the ZEP community
and Zimbabwean civil society,” Chitando told the Independent.
Media reports have indicated that Zimbabwe was engaging the
South African government to find solutions that would mitigate the effects of
Pretoria’s decision on the livelihoods of those affected.
“The meeting dealt with a diverse range of issues,
including, but not limited to passports, Zimbabwean court orders being applied
in South Africa and the rights of Zimbabwean children in South African
schools,” Chitando said.
“His excellency ambassador Hamadziripi answered the
questions that the leaders of the ZEP community asked,” he said.
“The community also indicated that they understood the
position that the Zimbabwean government cannot interfere with the sovereign
decisions by the South African government, but would engage the host government
on issues that concern Zimbabweans,” he said.
“The ZEP holders are also aware of the fact that the South
African Constitution is the highest law of the land; it is sovereign over that
territory; and that they have a right to challenge any executive decision made
by the executive branch of the South African government, which is what the
Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders Association is doing.
“The ZEP community accepted the Zimbabwean mission’s
invitation to have further dialogue on any issues of concern to Zimbabweans.
This includes discussions on assistance to ZEP holders who are unsuccessful
with applications for alternative legal status after the ZEP, and or, in the
event that the South African courts arrive at an unfavourable judgement.”
Chitando said the litigation initiated by the ZEP community
will proceed at the same time as all other diplomatic and political endeavours.
He expressed confidence that ZEP holders’ rights would get
protection.
The South African media on Tuesday quoted an unnamed
Zimbabwean government official saying Harare respected South Africa’s decision
not to renew the permits but was engaging Pretoria to find solutions to limit
the damage on the livelihoods of those affected.
“It’s a sovereign decision by the Republic of South Africa
to now terminate those permits, and as the government of Zimbabwe we do respect
that decision to terminate.
“We have always known that there was that clause which was
going to end in those permits, so we really do respect that decision by South
Africa,” said a Zimbabwean official in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
“South Africa is free just like any other country to make
immigration laws for their own country and other countries are supposed to
respect that decision.
“However, we are working with the South African government
to minimise the disruptions to our citizens, especially in the implementation
of the new regime in South Africa.”
The first Zimbabwean special dispensation started in 2009
and was called the Dispensation for Zimbabwe Permit and it provided for the
documentation of qualifying Zimbabweans for a five-year period.
In 2014, the dispensation was extended by three years and
called the Zimbabwean Special Permit and the current ZEP was initiated in 2017
and comes to an end on December 31, 2021.
The South African cabinet last month resolved not to extend
the special permits adding that holders would be required to apply for regular
permits within the next 12 months.
Zimbabweans without new permits are expected to travel back
home or risk immediate deportation from South Africa.
However, organisations and individuals who are against the
South African cabinet decision have argued that Zimbabwe remained a country in
turmoil which continues to experience serious economic and political challenges
and violence.
They further argued that the special dispensation covered a
timespan of over a decade and many Zimbabweans had built their families, lives
and homes in South Africa.
Approximately half a million children will be affected by
the cabinet decision and the organisations argue that this could result in
severe trauma through uprooting them from their lives in South Africa.
They noted that the children will be exposed to trauma and
suffering in Zimbabwe while the resolution undermines the best interests of the
child principle enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution.
A coalition of civil society organisations recently wrote a
petition to South African Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi seeking
clarification on issues including the immigration status of the ZEP holders
after the December 31 expiry date.
The CSOs also
enquired on whether the 12-months grace period would be extended to those who
submitted applications before December 31 but fail to receive the outcome of
their applications before the end of the grace period.
The organisations also sought to understand whether former
asylum seekers would be permitted to apply for asylum and what steps the Home
Affairs Department would take to disseminate the information to the affected
Zimbabweans.
Motsoaledi has not responded to the petition. Zimbabwe
Independent
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