Nigeria has rejected claims by South Africa that it has formally requested reimbursement from Abuja for expenses incurred in repatriating undocumented migrants, saying no such request has been received.
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that South Africa had not communicated any request to the Nigerian government for payment of the costs associated with the repatriation exercise.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, told the BBC: “We never received any request.”
Nigeria’s Consul General in South Africa, Ninikanwa Okey-Uche, also confirmed that she had not received any such request from the South African government.
The clarification followed a claim by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs that it had written to the governments of Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia seeking reimbursement for part of the costs incurred during a large-scale operation involving the deportation and voluntary return of undocumented migrants.
South African officials told lawmakers on Tuesday, August 12, that the government had spent about R292.77 million ($18 million; £13.5 million) on accommodating, transporting and processing tens of thousands of migrants who were either deported or returned voluntarily to their home countries.
The expenditure covered buses used to transport migrants, temporary repatriation centres, staff overtime and other operational expenses.
South Africa’s Home Affairs Director-General, Tommy Makhode, described the spending as an “unforeseen and unavoidable” cost that had placed significant pressure on the department’s budget.
Addressing the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs in Parliament, Makhode said the South African government had approached the affected countries through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in an effort to recover some of the money.
He said: “We have also written to governments of Malawi, and of course the embassies of Nigeria and Ethiopia to request for reimbursements of these costs through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)” incurred by South Africa.
Makhode added: “And we are expecting responses from those governments.”
However, Nigeria's position indicates that, at least from Abuja's perspective, no reimbursement request has been formally received.
The discrepancy raises questions about whether the communication referred to by South African authorities has reached the relevant Nigerian government institutions or whether Pretoria's request remains at the diplomatic stage.
Millions spent on repatriation
South Africa's Home Affairs Department said the repatriation operation had generated costs far beyond its original budget.
Makhode told lawmakers that the department had spent about R292 million on the operation, substantially exceeding the R60 million allocation initially set aside for deportations.
South African officials explained that the scale of the operation had not been anticipated when the department prepared its budget.
Makhode described the situation as an “unfunded mandate”, arguing that existing legislation had not provided adequate funding for the expanded repatriation exercise.
According to him, the largest portion of the expenditure went towards securing buses and transporting migrants.
Other government departments and municipalities that assisted with the operation have also reportedly sought reimbursement from the Home Affairs Department because they had not budgeted for the additional expenses.
The department said it had initially been allocated approximately R57 million ($3.54 million) for deportations, but the actual scale of this year's operations significantly exceeded the available funds.
Pressure over undocumented migrants
The repatriation exercise comes amid renewed tensions over undocumented migration in South Africa.
Several parts of the country have witnessed protests and campaigns demanding stricter immigration enforcement, with groups such as March and March and Operation Dudula calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.
The groups set June 30 as a deadline for undocumented migrants to leave, with threats of further action if they failed to comply.
The protests have intensified a longstanding debate in South Africa over immigration, employment, pressure on public services and the presence of undocumented migrants.
South African authorities said more than 80,000 people had either voluntarily left the country or been deported since the latest protests and enforcement operations began.
As of August 6, the Department of Home Affairs said 82,875 foreign nationals had been processed through its repatriation centres.
The figure, however, does not include foreigners who left South Africa before the June 30 deadline in response to the protests. It also excludes those processed by the Border Management Authority.
Nigeria also seeks compensation
The dispute over repatriation expenses comes against the background of separate concerns raised by Nigeria over the treatment of Nigerians affected by anti-immigration protests in South Africa.
In July, the Nigerian government said it was seeking compensation from South Africa for Nigerian citizens who were forced to leave the country or were otherwise affected by protests targeting undocumented migrants.
The Nigerian Foreign Ministry indicated at the time that the matter would be discussed between the two governments.
Ebienfa told the BBC that Nigeria and South Africa would discuss the issue “at the highest levels.”
The latest development therefore places both countries in a potentially complicated diplomatic position, with South Africa seeking reimbursement for costs it says it incurred while repatriating foreign nationals, while Nigeria has separately raised the issue of compensation arising from the treatment of its citizens during the anti-immigration protests.
For now, however, Abuja insists that it has not received the reimbursement request Pretoria says it has sent.
The disagreement is likely to require diplomatic clarification between the two governments, particularly through the foreign ministries and their diplomatic missions, before any financial obligation can be established.