MUSINA - Home Affairs has defended its decision to subject all migrants to verification before repatriation, despite mounting complaints about the delays this is causing.
Thousands of Malawian nationals stranded at the Musina Showgrounds say they’re sleeping on the ground with limited ablution facilities and inadequate food.
Government is establishing a temporary repatriation centre, which they say will resolve the problem.
READ: Hundreds of migrants stranded as repatriation delays continue
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber acknowledges that conditions at the Showgrounds are far from ideal.
He says newly arriving migrants will instead be accommodated at a temporary repatriation processing centre, located about 20 kilometres outside Musina.
Once fully operational, Schreiber says the facility will be able to accommodate up to 20,000 people waiting for repatriation.
- eNCA’s Moloko Moloto reports.