South Africa's Deportation Bill
When a state removes tens of thousands of undocumented foreign nationals in a single year, someone pays for the buses, the holding centres and the overtime. South Africa has now made clear who it believes that someone should be: not only the South African taxpayer, but also the governments whose citizens were repatriated. The Department of Home Affairs has formally written to Malawi, Nigeria and…
The South African government recently disclosed the financial burden of repatriating over 80,000 citizens back to their home countries, a figure five times the allocated budget. Director-General Tommy Makhode admitted that the department did not budget for this unprecedented repatriation operation, which processed 82,875 people by early August.
Municipalities like eThekwini and Cape Town had to cover the costs of buses, and the government pursued reimbursement from the National Treasury. Critics argue that this request is diplomatically awkward, but cost-sharing in migration is a common practice internationally. South Africa's neighbors have not previously faced such a large-scale return of their citizens, leading to the strain on resources.
The government denies accusations of failing to protect foreign nationals and has taken legal steps to address abuse. While the request may face challenges, it is a legitimate claim for a state spending nearly R300 million on an unbudgeted repatriation operation.
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