By Isaac Salima:
A total of 4,912 Malawians have been deported for staying illegally in South Africa between January and June this year, The Daily Times has learned.
Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services statistics indicate that from the figure, 4,471 are men while 231 are females.
“These people went into the Rainbow Nation using uncharted routes. Some had necessary documents but flouted immigration regulations. When we asked some of them, we also found out that they had overstayed passports and [were] without valid travel documents.
“However, the South African government is still conducting the exercise and more Malawians are expected to be deported,” Immigration’s national spokesperson Pasqually Zulu said on Tuesday.
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The spokesperson added that they would continue engaging the people on the need to always follow proper procedures when going to foreign lands.
“When people are going to foreign countries, whether for private or work-related issues, we advise them to use necessary routes and procedures in order to avoid such scenarios,” he said.
Zulu also conceded that delays by the Immigration Department to issue passports and other necessary travel documents have been compelling some people to use uncharted routes to other countries.
“On our end, we partly take the blame and will work on improving our services. However, we are appealing to all Malawians that if they are not served well, they should always report that to us,” he said.
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One of the South Africa-based Malawians, who did not want to be identified, said most of them are in the Rainbow Nation in search of greener pastures.
“I was one of the people who were once deported from South Africa but I returned to the country because life was unbearable in Malawi. It is always tough when you are caught [by police and immigration officials] in South Africa, you are fined and ordered to stay in prison for a month. You are then deported to Malawi,” he said.
Labour Minister Peter Dimba said the country was trying its best to economically empower its citizenry.
“From time immemorial, people have been trekking to South Africa in search of economic opportunities. That is why this government has put in place measures aimed at ensuring that we promote agriculture commercialisation, tourism, mining and manufacturing with an aim of improving the economy so that we can give opportunities to our young people,” he said.
Dimba further called for patience, saying this could not be achieved overnight.
“We are still exporting labour to other countries. Soon, we will be sending about 2,500 youth to Dubai [the United Arab Emirates]. These are interventions aimed at tackling unemployment and economically empowering our youths,” Dimba said.
Malawians have been going to South Africa to look for opportunities.
Recently, some Malawians who were deported from the country complained that they were dumped at Mwanza border without basic humanitarian support.
