Home Affairs is seeking reimbursement from Malawi, Nigeria and Ethiopia after South Africa spent R292 million on repatriating and deporting foreign nationals.
Director-General Tommy Makhode told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs that requests had been sent through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
The department has written to the Malawian government as well as the Nigerian and Ethiopian embassies.
Makhode said Home Affairs was still waiting for responses.
More than 82,000 people processed
By 6 August, Home Affairs had processed 82,875 people through repatriation and deportation procedures.
The figure includes people who voluntarily returned to their home countries as well as those formally deported.
Government established a Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre in Musina after growing numbers of foreign nationals gathered at temporary sites amid heightened migration tensions. Parliament previously confirmed that the centre was processing undocumented foreign nationals for repatriation and deportation.
The Musina facility was designed to accommodate as many as 20,000 people, although its reported peak occupancy was about 1,005.
Transport drives R292m cost
Makhode described the operation as an unfunded mandate, saying Home Affairs had not budgeted for the scale of the response.
Transport accounted for the largest share of the R292 million expenditure.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure separately spent R48 million establishing and operating the temporary processing centre.
Home Affairs has submitted a Cabinet memorandum dealing with the unforeseen expenditure and is seeking to reprioritise parts of its budget.
The department’s deportation budget for the current financial year is R257 million, but officials expect spending to exceed that amount.
Immigration courts process thousands
Government has also established dedicated immigration courts to speed up cases.
Makhode said 28,737 cases had been finalised through these courts.
Gauteng recorded the highest number, while KwaZulu-Natal processed 4,973 cases, the Western Cape 3,334 and the Eastern Cape 2,019.
Home Affairs said its migration response would continue to be guided by the Constitution, human rights and international obligations.
Officials have also stressed that violence, intimidation and blocking foreign nationals from accessing public services will not be tolerated.