Durban - About 200 foreign nationals who sought a safe
haven at a refugee camp during the recent xenophobic
violence that rocked Durban are refusing to be relocated. A statement released by the eThekwini Metro municipal
spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa on Monday afternoon
expressed the municipality’s concern at health conditions in
the Isipingo camp. According to the statement, an estimated 200 “African
immigrants” were refusing to be accommodated at a
refugee camp in Durban’s Chatsworth area. “On Saturday, the Municipality brought four buses to the
shelter in Isipingo to assist the remaining African
immigrants to move to an alternative shelter in Chatsworth
after consulting with them. “However, after the temporary shelters were dismantled
and other services were disconnected, such as water and
electricity, the immigrants reneged on the agreement and
refused to be transported to Chatsworth.” The statement went on further to blame “some parties
seeking to score cheap political points by using the plight
of African immigrants for their own selfish reasons to
render the City ungovernable”. Municipal spokesperson Gugu Mbonambi told News24 that
the municipality “has reasons” why it could not name the
party. At the end of April, EFF leader Julius Malema visited the camp and distributed blankets and last week Social
Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini accused the EFF of attempting to score cheap political points. According to the municipality’s statement released on
Monday, 681 people that had been accommodated at the
Isipingo camp had been repatriated to their respective
countries. The statement quoted eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo as
saying that the biggest concern was over hygiene
conditions in the camp. “Our concern as government is that currently in Isipingo
there are no services including ablution facilities, water and
electricity as our agreement with the displaced African
immigrants was that they be relocated to Chatsworth. Our
biggest concern is that the environment they are living in is
unhygienic and not safe especially for women and children,” he said.

Just take these to their home country and stop acting like
Messiahs of the world South Africa. We are not a developed
country . This is annoying. Imagine even a nigerian saying he is a refugee