Repatriation Facilitation Office in Durban

In a decisive step to address the challenge of immigration, eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Councillor Cyril Xaba, will establish a Repatriation Facilitation Office in Durban to facilitate the repatriation of legal refugees who genuinely wish to return to their countries of origin.

This support will not be available to foreign nationals who are in the country illegally, including asylum seekers whose application was rejected.

The modalities of the initiative will be worked out in conjunction with the diplomatic officials from the affected countries.

The Mayor will soon be reaching out to the ambassadors from the countries concerned.

Mayor Xaba has already informed the Dean of the diplomatic corp for KwaZulu-Natal of his intention to do so.

The Mayor added that details regarding the location of the repatriation facilitation office and its operational procedures will be announced in due course.

The Mayor has also called for the introduction of new asylum seeker documentation embedded with tamper-proof security features or seals as part of efforts to ensure that refugee status was granted to deserving cases, thereby protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

Following the adoption of security measures, he said that anyone who fails to migrate to the new system within the prescribed time-frame must face arrest and deportation.

This will assist Department of Home Affairs in cleansing its data and eliminating permits that might have been fraudulently issued.

Mayor Xaba made this announcement yesterday during a visit to the Diakonia Council of Churches, where foreign nationals had sought shelter.

The purpose of the visit was to facilitate the verification of their legal status in the country.

The foreign nationals were transported to the Department of Home Affairs’ Durban Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road.

According to Home Affairs figures approximately 457 foreign nationals were verified, with only 2 individual found to be without proper documentation and subsequently detained.

Only 5 had expired permits but are in a process of renewing them so they are not deemed as being undocumented and illegal.

The Mayor has called upon members of the community where the foreign nationals reside to accept them as their status has been verified.

But those that remain in our communities without the necessary documentation must be arrested and deported for avoiding the law.

On Monday, the Mayor will attend an engagement between the retailers who deliver goods, Takealot, Checkers, Mr D, Uber and the representatives of March and March on the hiring of foreign nationals for delivery jobs, organised under the auspices of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Mayor urged all stakeholders to support the initiative, emphasizing that it seeks to address migration challenges in a lawful manner.

“I strongly believe that if we work collaboratively on such initiatives, a great deal can be achieved in addressing migration issues,” said Xaba.