DURBAN - Hundreds of migrants fleeing to their home countries ahead of an unofficial 30 June deadline remain stranded at an overcrowded transit site in Durban.
While buses continue to arrive at the North Beach transit site, which has been set up to speed up repatriation and ease pressure on other facilities, many foreign nationals say they fear they will still be in the country when the deadline passes.
Although the eThekwini Municipality has assured those camped at the site that everyone will be processed, hundreds were still stranded by Monday morning. Frustrated individuals report waiting for days without clear communication from officials.
Migrants are being moved from the Durban hub to a new temporary repatriation site closer to the border in Musina, Limpopo.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the eThekwini Municipality confirmed the relocation of Malawian nationals follows a resolution by the inter-ministerial committee on migration.
The municipality says the temporary Durban site will be decommissioned once operational arrangements are finalised and the relocation process is complete.
“The municipality wishes to assure residents that the relocation is being undertaken in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Transport, the South African Police Service, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the process is conducted safely, orderly, humanely, and in accordance with the law,” the statement read.