Cape Town - The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has yet to publish guidelines for their refugee offices despite Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s pledge in mid-June that this would happen.
In mid-June, during a debate in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Motsoaledi told provincial premier and constitutional standing committee chairperson Ricardo Mackenzie (DA) that the process was ongoing.
Reminding Motsoaledi of his promise, Mackenzie said that since March last year, when the offices closed, the refugees have been struggling.
“Effectively, the DHA continues to ignore a community that should be receiving compassion and necessary support from the national government. Reports from my constituency in Mitchells Plain, and across the Western Cape, indicate that refugees are being turned away from DHA offices.
“DHA staff have been left without guidance from the national government of which services they are allowed to provide to refugees. As a result, these services remain unavailable at DHA offices
“Without the proper documentation, refugees cannot legally apply for work, rent a home or apply for a driver's license. It is unacceptable that refugees have to bear the brunt of incompetence from the DHA,” he said.
By the time of writing this story, the DHA had yet to reply to queries sent on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, some of the former Greenmarket Square refugees who the DHA had given until the end of April to either reintegrate into South African communities or be deported, have said they want to renegotiate terms.
At the time, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a deal with the refugees in which those who chose to be reintegrated into SA communities would have to find themselves accommodation, for which the UN offered to pay the first three months of rent.
As for those refugees who choose to be repatriated to their home countries, the International Organization of Migration would pay for airline tickets.
A spokesperson for the refugees, who requested anonymity, said some of the refugees wanted to be transferred to a third country, an option previously ruled out by the UNHCR.
“We are suffering here in South Africa, it is too dangerous to go back to our homes and we want to go somewhere else. The UN said it is not negotiable, but we believe we can still discuss this option,” he said.