Over 53,000 foreign nationals sent home as Musina processing centre eases migration crunch

A month after President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled a five-point migration plan, South Africa’s deportation drive has shifted from policy to large-scale execution. More than 53,000 foreign nationals have been processed for deportation or voluntary repatriation, with Malawians making up the vast majority. The speed of the Musina processing centre’s construction, and the heavy reliance on private companies, charities and churches, show what coordinated action can achieve. But the operation also exposes a deeper national tension: government is proving it can move migrants efficiently, while appearing far less equipped to curb vigilante groups targeting undocumented foreigners in communities across the country..BizNews Reporter.Why it matters: A month after President Ramaphosa's five-point migration plan launched, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) says more than 53,000 foreign nationals have now been removed from the country, most of them Malawians who volunteered to go home. By the numbers53,449 foreign nationals processed for deportation or voluntary repatriation as of July 11, per Justice Minister Kubai, chair of the IMC~80% of those are Malawian, followed by Zimbabweans and Mozambicans20,000+ have moved through the new Musina Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre (TRPC) alone since it opened July 14,898 deported in June through the ordinary immigration courts, a separate track from the TRPC2,615 repatriated beyond the SADC region, including 1,159 Nigerians, 939 Ugandans and 431 Kenyans."when government works together, focused, we are able to achieve."Justice Minister Kubai, chair of the IMC.The build was fast. Three weeks ago the Musina site was uncleared bush on state-owned land. Government cleared it in three days (June 27-29), then the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure set up tents, generators, fencing and ablution facilities in four more.."The team, working in a very coordinated and collaborative work, they were able to assemble that facility in four days," Minister Kubai told reporters, saying it "shows that when government works together, focused, we are able to achieve."."I can safely say since we started this process government has not paid for a single meal"Justice Minister Kubai, chair of the IMC.Who picked up the tab? Not the taxpayer. MTN and Vodacom rigged temporary connectivity towers on site so processing could run. MTN separately put R14 million through Gift of the Givers to fund food. A coalition of NGOs, among them Gift of the Givers, the Al-Imdaad Foundation, the Africa Muslim Agency, the Musina Reformed Church, the Matlasedi Foundation and the South African Council of Churches, handled the rest.."the money was well spent on June the 30th"Police Minister Cachalia.The surge is already fading. Daily repatriation numbers peaked at 4,850 on July 5 and had dropped to 1,139 by July 11. Government is now discussing a phased scale-down of the Musina operation, calling the centre a costly, temporary fix rather than a permanent fixture.On the security bill, reporters repeatedly pressed Police Minister Kachalia on what the June 30 policing operation cost. He didn't confirm a figure, but defended the spend on principle, pointing to the alternative: a repeat of the deadly July 2021 unrest.."So the money was well spent on June the 30th," Police Minister Kachalia said. "I want to applaud the police for the responsibility with which they kept the country safe. And I want to applaud the marchers for observing the law, for acting with responsibility for the most part.".The part that isn't solved yet: Multiple journalists pushed back hard on reports of vigilante groups going door to door searching homes for undocumented migrants, allegedly with police standing by and doing nothing. Kachalia conceded this kind of activity is "much more difficult to police" than an organised march, and Kubai pointed to community policing forums as the government's tool for gathering tip-offs. Neither minister claimed the problem was under control.Bottom line: The logistics of getting people home, fast, cheaply and without a fight over who pays, appear to be working. Whether the same coordination shows up on the vigilantism problem is the thing worth watching next.

Over 53,000 foreign nationals sent home as Musina processing centre eases migration crunch

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