Africa-Press – South-Africa. ActionSA has expressed outrage over the amount of taxpayer money spent on deporting undocumented foreigners since 2022.
The department of home affairs revealed R193,007,007 was spent to deport 83,731 illegal immigrants back to their countries of origin from January 2022 to August 2024.
In the past five months, South Africa spent R52m to deport 19,750 illegal immigrants.
ActionSA parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni argued the figure exposes government’s “incompetence” in securing borders and enforcing immigration laws.
“This is a slap in the face to law-abiding citizens as it reveals the devastating consequences of porous borders and a government unwilling or unable to enforce its own laws,” she said.
“It is unacceptable for South Africans to bear the financial brunt of government’s failure to protect our borders and uphold our sovereignty. We refuse to accept the notion that South Africa should be an exception when it comes to enforcing international norms and standards on immigration.”
Ngobeni argued the money could be better spent on South African citizens.
“South Africans are not only footing the bill for deportations. To add insult to injury, South Africans are paying for foreign language interpreters in court when immigrants stand trial for their crimes. This is a disgrace. The costs should be borne by the foreign missions of their home countries, not hard-working South Africans.
“ActionSA demands an immediate halt to this gross abuse of taxpayer funds.”
The party has written to home affairs minister Leon Schreiber to provide a plan to recover costs spent on illegal immigrants. The party has also called on international relations minister Ronald Lamola to engage with heads of states from countries to discuss immigration.
“Enough is enough. ActionSA will continue holding the grand coalition government accountable for failing to protect South African citizens and uphold our laws.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
