The Musina Temporary Repatriation Processing Centre will reduce its capacity from 20,000 to 1,500 people from 1 August after the government recorded a sharp decline in the number of undocumented foreign nationals requiring processing.
The centre was established in June after thousands of undocumented migrants sought to leave the country. It became the main processing point for deportations and repatriations.
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced the scale-down on Sunday, 26 July. She said the government had analysed migration trends over the past three weeks before taking the decision.
Since 14 June, the government has processed 68,138 undocumented foreign nationals. Most passed through the Musina centre before being repatriated. The majority were Malawian nationals, followed by Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.
Kubayi said the reduced capacity would not affect deportation or repatriation operations. The government would continue managing migration in line with immigration laws and its Five-Point Plan on Migration Management.
The temporary centre provided documentation, transport and humanitarian support to undocumented migrants. The government said services included healthcare, food, water, sanitation, child protection, and support for women and other vulnerable groups.
Kubayi said the government had identified assembly points across municipalities should migration pressures increase again. She said migration management remained a long-term programme involving national, provincial and local government, law enforcement agencies, and neighbouring countries.