The South African government is seeking reimbursements from the governments of Malawi, Nigeria and Ethiopia for costs incurred in repatriating their nationals.
Jacaranda FM reports that the reparations came amid a campaign by fringe anti-foreigner groups, which had set June 30 as an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to leave.
The Border Management Authority has revealed that 89,936 people had been repatriated through South Africa’s ports of entry by August 7th.
At least four migrants have been killed in the violence, according to the South African police, though some foreign governments say the death toll is higher.
Ghana, which has been an outspoken critic of the fatal attacks, has called an African Union debate on the anti-migrant violence at the next AU summit early next year.
Nigeria, which has also clashed diplomatically with South Africa over recurring attacks on its citizens, has likewise pushed to put the issue on the AU’s agenda.
South Africa said the AU’s executive council, which met in Ethiopia last month, decided not to include migration on the agenda for the bloc’s mid-term review meeting in Egypt in October.
The Department of Home Affairs director-general, Tommy Makhode, told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs that the mass repatriation of undocumented foreign nationals has cost the state almost R293 million.
He said this is more than five times the department’s annual allocation for deportations.
