Durban Mayor Cyril Xaba has unveiled plans for a Repatriation Facilitation Office to assist legally recognised refugees wishing to return home, amidst rising tensions surrounding immigration in the city.
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The eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba has announced plans to establish a Repatriation Facilitation Office in Durban aimed at assisting legally recognised refugees who voluntarily wish to return to their countries of origin.
Xaba stated that the initiative would not extend to undocumented foreign nationals or asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.
The mayor made the announcement during a visit to the Diakonia Centre, where hundreds of foreign nationals had sought shelter amid growing tensions around immigration and employment in the city.
The group of foreigners had told authorities that had been fled from their homes and places of work in the Durban CBD due to alleged threats and violence.
During Wednesday’s operation, foreign nationals sheltering at the church were transported to the Department of Home Affairs’ Durban Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road for verification of their legal status.
According to the municipality, the repatriation office will work closely with diplomatic representatives from the countries involved. Xaba said engagements with ambassadors from affected countries would begin soon and that the Dean of the diplomatic corps in KwaZulu-Natal had already been informed of the municipality’s intentions.
“The details regarding the location of the repatriation facilitation office and its operational procedures will be announced in due course,” Xaba said.
The mayor also called for the introduction of a new asylum seeker documentation system with tamper-proof security features to prevent fraud and strengthen immigration controls.
He said individuals who failed to transition to the new documentation system within a prescribed period should face arrest and deportation.
“This will assist the Department of Home Affairs in cleansing its data and eliminating permits that might have been fraudulently issued,” he said.
The group of foreigners had their legal status verified at the Durban Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road. According to the municipality, approximately 300 foreign nationals were processed, with municipal officials reporting that only one individual was found without valid documentation and was subsequently detained.
Xaba urged communities to accept those whose legal status had been verified.
“The community must accept those whose documentation has been confirmed,” he said, adding that undocumented individuals “must be arrested and deported for avoiding the law”.
The mayor is also expected to attend a meeting on Monday involving retailers and delivery platforms, including Takealot, Checkers, Mr D, and Uber, alongside representatives of March and March.
The engagement, organised under the auspices of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will focus on concerns around the hiring of foreign nationals in the delivery sector.
Xaba called on all stakeholders to support lawful interventions aimed at addressing migration challenges.
“I strongly believe that if we work collaboratively on such initiatives, a great deal can be achieved in addressing migration issues,” he said.
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