The Pretoria High Court will on Friday hear the third and final challenge against the decision to scrap the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme.
Three civil society organizations are currently challenging the decision, and a full bench of the Pretoria High Court has been hearing their arguments during the week.
Earlier in the week, it heard cases from the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) and the Zimbabwean Immigration Federation.
And Friday, it will hear one from the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders Association (Zepha).
Advocate Simba Chitando, who represented the association, said their application was somewhat different to the other two, which both ultimately sought to have the decision taken reviewed and set aside.
“The Zepha is going to be applying for a declaratory order, which would declare that every ZEP holder has a legitimate expectation to at least apply for permanent residency in South Africa.”
Chitanbo said they were feeling confident going into Friday’s hearing.
“We are very optimistic having heard all the other organizations making, I think, very strong arguments in favour of setting aside the decision by the minister to end the ZEP.
“We’re also quite optimistic that the court may recognize the obvious legitimate expectation that ZEP holders have to be permanent residents in the country given the fact that they’ve spent more than 12 years legally living in South Africa.”
-EWN
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