By Simon Nare
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has hailed the repatriation of about 75,000 undocumented foreign nationals in recent months as an unprecedented effort that is beginning to yield results in fixing the country’s immigration system.
Addressing a virtual meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday, Schreiber said the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority (BMA) had carried out the repatriations with dignity and in accordance with human rights.
He described the operation as an enormous challenge given the scale of the work required, including the construction of a fully fledged repatriation centre in the border town of Musina as foreign nationals volunteered to return home amid rising tensions following anti-immigration protests.
Schreiber said the department would on Wednesday unveil a new biometric system that he said would significantly improve the tracking of people entering the country.
“If we look at the numbers
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