ActionSA is up in arms over the staggering amount of taxpayers’ money used to deport undocumented foreigners in South Africa since 2022. The Department of Home Affairs disclosed that a whopping R193,007,007 was expended to repatriate 83,731 illegal immigrants to their home countries from January 2022 to August 2024. In just the last five months, R52 million was spent on deporting 19,750 individuals.
Lerato Ngobeni, the parliamentary chief whip for ActionSA, criticized the government’s handling of the situation, citing it as a stark display of “incompetence” in safeguarding borders and enforcing immigration regulations. She expressed dismay at the burden placed on law-abiding citizens due to porous borders and the authorities’ failure to uphold their own laws.
Ngobeni emphasized the need for accountability and adherence to international immigration standards, rejecting the idea that South Africa should be exempt from such obligations. ActionSA strongly opposes the notion that citizens should bear the financial repercussions of governmental shortcomings in protecting the nation’s borders and sovereignty.