DURBAN - The eThekwini Municipality has ordered foreign nationals still camped outside Home Affairs offices in the city to go back to their communities or face deportation.
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said those who remain outside the offices in Moore Road, Durban, are breaking municipal by-laws.
According to Xaba, the group, which includes nationals from Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia, was cleared and their status confirmed that they are in the country legally.
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But, despite being cleared and told to reintegrate themselves back into society, the group have not done so.
This has now become a concern which the provincial government now deems as a call to have them deported from the country.
“They are still squatting on the pavement in front of the Home Affairs offices. We must say this is an illegal activity. They are violating our by-laws, and it doesn't matter what your status is; you are expected to respect the laws of the host country,” he explained.
The province is currently conducting a massive cleanup drive at Durban’s Drive-In after thousands of migrants were awaiting to be bused out to Musina, Limpopo, for repatriation.
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According to Xaba, to date, they have transported over 19,000 migrants from the two sites, including Sherwood and Drive In.
Additionally, a total of 300 buses were deployed for the process.
“We want by the time the weekend comes, this site is back to normal. Our initial agreement was that this site would operate for 14 days, and in those days we have been able to accomplish the mission,” Xaba said.