Johannesburg - South Africas official opposition, the Democratic Alliance has called for immediate action to be taken at the Cape Town Refugee Centre at Nyanga to prevent the current crime and corruption crisis plaguing the centre. (Pictured:Juanita Terblanche, DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs.)Crime and corruption are making it unsafe for refugees to successfully make their applications, we have already taken several steps in Parliament to highlight the urgent attention needed to address the issues at the Cape Town Refugee Centre and the home affairs office in Nyanga, and will be making another visit to follow up on the progress made., said Juanita Terblanche, DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs.
The Nyanga Refugee Centre, south of Cape Town International Airport has been an arrival destination for many asylum seekers from poor and war torn African countries like Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Somaliaand Ethiopia.
In a portfolio committee on Home Affairs on Wednesday it was revealed that almost all refugee applications were rejected due to the Home Affairs offices inability to separate the applications of bona fide asylum seekers (10%) and economic migrants (90%). This means that those with genuine refugee status are not able to receive the attention they deserve.
By order of the Cape High Court, the refugee centre was required to vacate their premises by 30 September and it appears unlikely that the centre will be able to relocate in time ,thereby being forced to carry on operating from substandard and unsafe premises , perpetuating the current crisis. Even more problematically, the new facility, which has yet to be built, is expected to take between 4-5 months to complete.
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