Acting Commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Major General David Chilembe, says marquees have been set up near the Beitbridge Port of Entry to accommodate thousands of foreign nationals undergoing deportation and voluntary repatriation.

Chilembe provided an update on repatriation operations at Beitbridge in Musina on Thursday.

He said officials at the border are simultaneously managing deportations, voluntary repatriation, and the normal movement of people and goods.

Chilembe says the newly established marquees will temporarily accommodate Malawian and Zimbabwean nationals passing through the port, making the repatriation process more efficient.

According to Chilembe, the BMA has processed more than 35,000 people through the border post since 7 June, when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced measures relating to migration.

He says about 2,400 people were processed on Wednesday alone, including 1,700 Malawian nationals and about 700 Zimbabwean nationals.

Chilembe says one of the main challenges is facilitating the return of Malawian nationals, as Malawian authorities are required to take over the process to allow their citizens to transit through Zimbabwe.

He says the Malawian authorities appear to be overwhelmed by the high number of people crossing, although buses continue to arrive and the BMA remains prepared to process those being repatriated.

He adds that citizenship verification remains a key part of the process to ensure that South African citizens are not mistakenly repatriated.

“The main challenge of the process includes the citizenship verification of everybody who goes through, because we don’t want a situation where we will repatriate South Africans.” added Chilembe

Fingerprint checks are being conducted to identify individuals who may be attempting to evade criminal processes by entering the repatriation system.

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