DA to conduct oversight inspection of Marabastad Refugee Centre

Tomorrow, Tuesday 16 October 2018, DA Team One South Africa Spokesperson on Immigration, Jacques Julius MP, and the DA Gauteng Provincial Leader, John Moodey MPL, will conduct an oversight inspection of the Desmond Tutu Refugee Centre in Marabastad, in Tshwane.

This follows allegations of rampant maladministration and corruption at the centre where certain officials request bribes before assisting vulnerable asylum seekers. There have also been reported instances of violence and intimidation at the centre.

Long queues have also become a permanent fixture as the centre faces extreme capacity pressures due to the failure of the Department of Home Affairs to re-open the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office despite a 2015 Supreme Court of Appeals order. It previously took the department 6 years to comply with a 2012 Constitutional Court Order to re-open the Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office.

The DA will inspect the facility and seek to engage the centre’s management about these claims, as we have a constitutional duty to ensure that refugees are treated with dignity and respect.

The chaos, dysfunction and lack of capacity at the Desmond Tutu Refugee Centre means that the failing ANC government continues to effectively impose undocumented status on law-abiding immigrants.

Unlike the ANC, the DA wants to build One South Africa for All – where the government assists, supports and cares for legitimate refugees and asylum seekers.

There will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

Media EnquiriesDemocratic AllianceMarshallé FrederiksNational Press Officer