South Africa’s $18.5m Repatriation Bill Meets Resistance as Nigeria Denies Request, Ghana Rejects Liability

South Africa is facing resistance from Ghana and Nigeria over its attempt to recover about $18.5 million spent supporting the repatriation of foreign nationals, with both countries disputing Pretoria’s position on the costs of returning their citizens.

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has said it incurred about R292.77 million ($18.5 million) in repatriation-related costs, far exceeding its R60 million budget for deportations.

The government said it was seeking reimbursement from several African countries whose nationals were repatriated from South Africa.

The countries explicitly named by South Africa are Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia. South Africa’s Home Affairs department said it had written to Malawi’s government and the Nigerian and Ethiopian embassies through DIRCO requesting reimbursement.

Nigeria, however, says it has not received any formal demand for payment. Nigerian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa told the BBC on Wednesday: “We never received any request.”

Nigeria’s Consul General in South Africa, Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, also told the BBC that she had not received such a request from the South African government.

The response creates a discrepancy between Pretoria’s account that reimbursement requests have been communicated through diplomatic channels and Abuja’s position that no such request has reached its foreign ministry or diplomatic mission.

Ghana rejects responsibility for South Africa’s costs

Ghana has explicitly rejected any responsibility for South Africa’s repatriation costs, stating it funded its own citizens’ evacuation (Image: Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS) Image: Siphiwe Sibeko/REUTERS

Ghana has also moved to distance itself from South Africa’s reimbursement demand.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Ghana’s Foreign Ministry said it had taken note of South Africa’s demand for about $18 million from several African countries for support and facilitation provided during the evacuation of foreign nationals.

Accra rejected any suggestion that South Africa should be reimbursed for the evacuation of Ghanaian nationals.

“The evacuation of all our compatriots was fully funded by the government of Ghana and our Ghanaian partners. Ghana did not seek any financial or material support from the South African government to bring our fellow nationals back home,” the ministry said.

The Ghanaian government went further, assuring its citizens that “under no circumstances will Ghana be listed among the countries being requested by the government of South Africa to reimburse the cost incurred in repatriating foreign nationals.”

The statements from Accra and Abuja come as South Africa faces the financial consequences of a major increase in immigration enforcement and repatriation activity.

Pretoria has described the expenditure as an unexpected burden on the Home Affairs budget, with transportation, accommodation, staffing and other operational costs contributing to the sharp increase in spending.

The government is seeking to recover some of those costs from countries whose nationals were among those returned.

However, the responses from Ghana and Nigeria could complicate that effort and raise broader questions about the financial responsibility for repatriation operations carried out by one African country.