South Africa says 74% of returned Ghanaians overstayed visas

South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has said that nearly three-quarters of Ghanaians who recently returned home from South Africa had violated the country's immigration laws and were subsequently declared undesirable under established legal procedures.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Tuesday, Mr Lamola said approximately 74% of the Ghanaians who had left South Africa had overstayed their visas, resulting in their designation as undesirable persons under South African immigration regulations.

"As I've said earlier on, with the bulk of all Ghanaians that have come back home, almost 74% had overstayed, and they had been declared undesirable through our processes, and this is the law, and this has been communicated to the High Commissioner," he said.

Despite the immigration violations, Mr Lamola stressed that the South African government remained committed to protecting all people living within its borders, including Ghanaian nationals.

"We are indeed protecting all people within the borders of South Africa. Constitutionally, we are duty-bound to protect everyone, including Ghanaian nationals," he said.

The minister noted that many Ghanaians continue to play an important role in various sectors of South Africa's economy and deserve the protection afforded to all residents.

"There is a huge number of them in the various sectors of our economy. The South African government is duty-bound to ensure that they feel safe and they play their role as they are supposed to be in the country," he added.

Mr Lamola said South Africa's constitutional protections apply to everyone regardless of nationality or immigration status, adding that the government has a responsibility to guarantee the safety of all residents.

"The Constitution does not differentiate. The government has got the responsibility to make sure that everyone is safe," he said.

His comments come amid concerns over attacks and intimidation targeting foreign nationals in parts of South Africa. Mr Lamola said the government strongly condemned such acts and remained committed to protecting all communities.

"It is for that reason why we are condemning the violence against foreign nationals, because it is our duty as the government of South Africa to protect everyone within our borders," he said.

At the same time, he maintained that authorities would continue to address irregular migration through the enforcement of immigration laws.

"We also have a duty to deal with irregular migration by enforcing the immigration policy," he added.

On calls for compensation for Ghanaian traders who may have suffered losses, Mr Lamola said it was too early for the South African government to make any commitments as investigations into the circumstances surrounding their return were still ongoing.

"The first aspect we have to look into is how it happened, who forced them out and all that. And that is the process that we are currently undergoing," he said.

According to the minister, authorities are examining all aspects of the matter, including the events that led to the departures and whether any individuals or groups acted unlawfully.

He said no decision had been taken on compensation because the government was still gathering facts.

"At this stage, there is no ground for any compensation because we are still looking into all the aspects, because you need to be sure," he stated.

Mr Lamola also pointed out that the immigration status of affected individuals would form part of the assessment process. "Most of them had to come back home because they had already been declared to be undesirable in South Africa. So you have to check all those aspects," he explained.

He added that any future consideration of compensation would be determined on a case-by-case basis. "We will not stipulate. We'll have to deal with each case to be able to say," he said.

While discussions on the matter were ongoing, Mr Lamola declined to speculate on the outcome, saying the government would make its position known after completing its investigations.

"It is an issue that is being discussed. I can't make a political announcement that has not yet been confirmed, but it is an issue that is being discussed, and it will definitely be this process that we're undergoing. It's one of the issues that we will pronounce on," he said.