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Khosa v. Minister of Social Development; Mahlaule v. Minister of Social Development

Judgments

Country

Rights Involved

Issue

National Court

Summary: [2 cases combined] This case concerns an application for an order confirming the constitutional invalidity of certain provisions of the Social Assistance Act 59 of 1992 (the Act) granted by Claasen AJ in the Pretoria High Court. The challenged sections disqualify persons who are not South African citizens from receiving certain welfare grants. The court held such disqualifications to be unconstitutional and read in the words “or permanent resident” after the word “citizen” in each of the challenged sections. The court rejected the government's argument that the distinction between citizens and permanent residents were justified on financial grounds. This was due to the relatively small increase in expenditure which the inclusion of 'permanent residents' would have, and the detrimental effect on the dignity of the 'permanent residents' that resulted from exclusion from the acts.