South Africa Spent About US$21 Million Moving 99,933 People Out
Home Affairs figures put the cost of the summer removals operation at R341.2 million. Malawians were the largest group, and the department has asked the Treasury for R292 million it had not budgeted. The post South Africa Spent About US$21 Million Moving 99,933 People Out appeared first on The Rio Times .
The South African Department of Home Affairs spent approximately R341 million (around US$21 million) to repatriate and deport 99,933 foreign nationals in the aftermath of anti-immigration protests in late June. The figures presented to the Home Affairs Committee on August 25 indicate that 89,936 people were repatriated voluntarily, while 9,997 were formally deported. Malawians constituted the majority, with 54,541 individuals, followed by Zimbabweans (27,920), Mozambicans (2,417), and Nigerians (1,145).
Transport, primarily through buses, accounted for the largest portion of the budget at R232 million (about US$14.4 million). The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure allocated an additional R48 million (around US$3 million) to establish and operate a temporary repatriation processing center at Musina, near the Zimbabwean border. This facility provided shelter, food, water, sanitation, and medical services to the migrants.
Chartered flights to destinations such as Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Burundi cost approximately R8 million (about US$500,000). Additional expenses included overtime for departmental officials, amounting to around R13 million (about US$800,000). The department has requested R292 million (about US$18 million) from the National Treasury to cover unforeseen and unavoidable expenditures, with the annual deportation budget already depleted.
Parliament has raised concerns about the overspend, estimating an additional R220 million (approximately US$13.6 million) and questioning the diversion of funds from other programs. The department is pursuing reimbursements from the home countries of the deported individuals through diplomatic channels. The repatriation and deportation operation, conducted under the auspices of Home Affairs, received support from various charities and international organizations, including Gift of the Givers, the Al-Imdaad Foundation, the International Organization for Migration, UNHCR, and UNICEF.
However, the tragedy of one Malawian man's death on a bus en route to Beit Bridge cannot be overlooked.
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