(Please note the corrected version of this earlier story on SAnews.)
The Department of Home Affairs and its partners have been engaging the protestors living in temporary shelters in Paint City and Wingfield in Cape Town, before taking down the tents and removing ablution facilities.
“Over the course of the week, the majority of protestors in both facilities came forward indicating their willingness to either reintegrate or voluntarily repatriate.
“Around 400 protesters from Wingfield and another 120 from Paint City communicated their preferences this week,” the Department of Home Affairs said.
Last Monday, the protestors were given a final notice to take the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offer to assist them to reintegrate into local communities or to voluntarily repatriate to their countries of origin.
Immigration and UNHCR officials have been based at the Proteaville Centre in Bellville where immigration officials are assisting to verify the status of some foreign nationals who may have lost or misplaced their documents and those who are undocumented.
Some of these people need these documents to satisfy the requirements as stipulated by the UNHCR for voluntary repatriation back to their countries of origin and for reintegration.
Law enforcement authorities have opted to allow immigration and UNHCR officials time to complete their work and not disrupt them by moving in at the moment. – SAnews.gov.za
