South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs is seeking to recover part of the nearly $18 million it spent repatriating migrants to their home countries, with Ghana notably excluded from the list of countries being asked to reimburse the costs.
The department has formally approached Nigeria, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to recover part of the expenditure incurred in housing, transporting and supporting migrants who requested to return home.
The development follows a briefing by South African Home Affairs officials to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, where the department disclosed the scale of the costs involved.
According to the officials, a significant portion of the expenditure went into renting buses to transport migrants, while other costs covered temporary repatriation facilities, food, staff overtime and other operational expenses.
Home Affairs Director-General Tommy Makhode said although the affected countries had provided some assistance, South Africa ultimately bore most of the financial burden.
“Letters have been sent to the embassies of these countries awaiting response,” he said.
Ghana is not among the countries being asked to reimburse South Africa.
The country had independently financed the repatriation of more than 1,600 Ghanaians following xenophobic attacks in South Africa, using a combination of chartered and commercial flights.
The evacuation exercise was funded by the Ghanaian government, with support from some private businesses.
Upon arrival at the Accra International Airport, the returnees were provided with reintegration allowances, transport fares and other relief items to support their return.
Sources indicate that South African authorities offered to support Ghana’s repatriation exercise, but the offer was declined as Ghana opted to finance the evacuation of its nationals.
The decision was widely welcomed in Ghana, with many praising the government for moving swiftly to protect its citizens and facilitate their safe return during the attacks.
South Africa is now seeking reimbursement from the five African countries as it moves to recover part of the costs it incurred in facilitating the repatriation of their nationals.
