The EFF has raised concerns over the R52.8 million spent on deporting illegal immigrants between April and August this year. In a recent parliamentary Q&A session, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber revealed that 19,750 undocumented immigrants were sent back to their countries of origin at a cost of R52,817,656. This marks a significant increase from the 10,808 deportations in the 2022/23 financial year.
EFF MP Thapelo Mogale questioned the high expenditure, suggesting the funds could have been better allocated to strengthen border security and prevent the influx of undocumented immigrants. The department is spending an excessive amount on deportations in just a few months. If we consider this over a period of five years, we could easily have spent a billion or more, Mogale told *TimesLIVE*.
He argued that such funds could be used for other purposes, particularly to properly fund the Border Management Agency, which Mogale believes is under-resourced. If the agency is underfunded, we’ll continue to see an increase in undocumented individuals entering the country.
Mogale proposed that documenting immigrants would be a more practical and cost-effective solution compared to continued deportations. These individuals are already here, and instead of spending millions on deporting them, we should document them. This would allow us to identify those who are undesirable, such as individuals with criminal records or fugitives, and deal with them accordingly.
In 2022/23, the top five countries of origin for deported individuals were Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In August, 95 Libyans were deported after being arrested in White River, Mpumalanga.
