The Tshwane interim refugee reception office at the Pretoria Showgrounds was shut down on Wednesday after protests by asylum seekers who accused officials of dragging their feet and demanding money before they would help them.
The refugees burnt tyres and blocked Soutter Street, causing a massive traffic jam. Cars had to be rerouted to Church Street.
About 1 000 refugees protested early in the morning, and it was not long before stones started flying.
Some attributed the unruly behaviour to latecomers who had realised they would not get helped and tried to jump the queue.
Others said they were not happy that officials wanted to assist women and children instead of following the queue.
The large crowd shouted and chanted as they held up their papers, saying they were tired of the corruption that they claimed is rife at the centre.
“Where are we supposed to get money while we don’t work? We are tired of always being asked for money. The government should do something about this centre,” one man said.
The people said they were forced to pay for papers which are meant to be free. Some said they had been going to the centre since 2010 but to date had still not been assisted. They lambasted “the centralisation of everything”, saying it was making it difficult for them to get help.
“People from all the provinces come here to get their papers done. This is compounding the problems and making the officials demand money from us.
“Things would work a lot better if people could visit centres in their provinces,” said another man.
They also alleged that officials purposefully wait for their papers to expire and then demand bribes.
Police were called in to stabilise the situation. It was then decided that services should be suspended for the day to maintain calm and avoid any casualties.
Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said: “A decision was made to suspend operations for the day, while serving women, children and the most vulnerable only.”
He said initial reports indicated that Ethiopian nationals who allegedly did not want to queue for services started throwing stones at other refugees who were already queuing for services, including the renewal of Section 22 permits.
A Section 22 permit is a document given to asylum seekers once they have met all the requirements set by the department.
First-timers are given a Section 22 permit to allow them to be in the country for three months, during which time they have to apply for an asylum seeker’s permit.
The permit does not give the individual refugee status – it is just proof that they have applied for refugee status.
“The Ethiopian nationals also did not want to observe the rule that women and children be served first.
“This led to disruptions to the traffic flow with vehicles being pelted with stones, businesses in the area unable to conduct normal operations, while the safety of the public was compromised.
“Accordingly, the management of the centre had to involve the police to assist in crowd control and management,” said Mamoepa.
The government respected the rights of citizens and foreigners to embark on protest action to highlight their demands and plight, but the government insisted this be done in an orderly manner and within the framework of the law, Mamoepa added.
Asked what the department was doing regarding corrupt officials who allegedly solicit money from the refugees, he said that was a crime which needed to be brought to their attention and also reported to the police.
“Fraud and corruption are crimes. We are ridding the department of all corrupt elements.
“We are doing everything within our power to ensure that such acts do not occur,” Mamoepa said.
Major-General Tommy Mthombeni, the cluster commander for Pretoria, urged the foreign nationals to come forward with their complaints and lay charges.
“At the moment we have not heard of such cases, but people should come forward with information.
‘We are also taking up the issue of corruption among those within our ranks. Officers were arrested late last year for taking money from foreigners,” he said.
Mamoepa said Home Affairs Deputy Minister Fatima Chohan would meet senior officials in the department to discuss Wednesday’s events.
Pretoria News