Home Affairs Spends R292 Million on Deportations, Far Exceeding R60 Million Budget
- The Department of Home Affairs has vastly exceeded its deportation budget, with Director-General Tommy Makhode briefing Parliament on the scale of spending
- Nearly 90,000 undocumented foreign nationals have been repatriated this year, more than double the figure recorded in the previous financial year
- South Africa has formally requested reimbursement from several foreign governments to help cover the costs of deporting their citizens
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SOUTH AFRICA — The Department of Home Affairs has spent R292 million on deportation operations this financial year, nearly five times the R60 million originally set aside for the exercise, Director-General Tommy Makhode told Parliament's portfolio committee on Tuesday.
According to Eyewitness News, Makhode confirmed that the initial allocation came from the Criminal Assets Recovery Account and was never intended to cover an operation of this scale. He acknowledged that existing legislative frameworks do not adequately account for costs of this nature.
Nearly 90,000 deported as Musina facility winds down
The Border Management Authority reported that close to 90,000 people have crossed the country's borders as part of the repatriation drive. Of those, approximately 83,000 were processed through the Lindela Repatriation Centre, located west of Johannesburg.
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That figure is more than double the 44,607 deportations recorded during the previous financial year. Malawi received the largest share of deported individuals, with Zimbabwe and Mozambique following. Transport costs formed the biggest portion of the expenditure, with Home Affairs reimbursing the Cape Town and eThekwini municipalities for buses used during operations.
The Department of Public Works separately spent R48 million constructing a temporary facility in Musina capable of accommodating up to 20,000 people at a time. That site is now being scaled back as operations wind down.
Cabinet and foreign governments brought into spending row
Home Affairs has submitted a memorandum to Cabinet's budget committee to account for the excess spending. On the international front, the South African government has formally approached the governments of Malawi, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, requesting reimbursement for deportation costs incurred for their respective citizens.
Undocumented migrants arrested in Pretoria
In a related article, Briefly News reported on the Department of Home Affairs' immigration enforcement operation conducted in Pretoria as part of Operation New Broom. This initiative utilizes biometric technology to identify and deport undocumented foreign nationals, sparking significant online debate regarding the effectiveness and scope of such enforcement actions.
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Source: Briefly News
