SA opposition to investigate Zim refugee crisis at Beitbridge

By Tererai Karimakwenda
19 July, 2007

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party, has announced they will be visiting the Beitbridge border crossing in order to assess the situation with regard to Zimbabwean refugees crossing into South Africa. The DA has been critical of the South African government and its policy towards the millions of Zimbabweans now living there. They have also spoken strongly against President Thabo Mbeki’s refusal to publicly acknowledge the abuses of the Mugabe regime.

The DA spokesperson for Home Affairs, MP Mark Lowe, said they believe that the government of South Africa is in fact violating its own law regarding refugees and should try to accommodate Zimbabwean refugees fleeing from the crisis back home. He said the Department of Home Affairs was misinterpreting the Refugees Act (1998), taking it read that refugees should be incorporated into communities. But Lowe explained that the Act states that the Department of Home Affairs is obligated to set up refugee camps for those coming into South Africa in large numbers. This applies to the 3 million Zimbabwean refugees estimated to be in South Africa.
MP Lowe said he was going to assess the situation for himself since thousands were crossing into South Africa daily and yet nothing was being done to accommodate them. He vowed to put pressure on the Home Affairs minister to respect the law because she has not been visible at all on this issue. Lowe described the Zimbabwean refugee crisis as a humanitarian crisis, not a political one. He stressed that we are all Africans and it was quite tragic Home Affairs was acting this way.
A statement released by the DA said in part: “This is a major humanitarian crisis happening right now. Not next month, not next year, but right now. We appeal to Minister Mapisa-Nqakula to act before it is too late and South Africa looks like the country that didn’t care.”