Minister Gigaba must be summoned to account to Parliament for ignoring court order to reopen Refugee Centres
5 June 2018
Please see video here.
Today, the DA conducted an oversight visit to the Department of Home Affairs Cape Town office in the Foreshore. This office only processes asylum seeker permit renewals and does not take new applications as the Cape Town Refugee Reception office was closed, illegally, in 2012.
The DA spoke with some asylum seekers who shared their frustrations with the process as well as the conditions at the current premises which pose a health hazard to both asylum-seekers and staff. In such close quarters tensions often run high, in some instances, resulting in instances where female staffers said they felt threatened.Security has been a serious issue at the facility as the previous contract with the security company came to an end. This has forced staff to act as security guards to manage access control which puts their safety at risk.
Refugee reception Offices are meant to receive and process new applications from people who are seeking asylum in South Africa. They also renew asylum seeker permits while these applicants await decisions on their permanent applications.