Refugees: Deadline approaching

2008-09-04 13:14

Pretoria - The deadline for closure of temporary refugee shelters is fast approaching, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said in Pretoria on Thursday.

Briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting, Maseko said the process for deportation would "kick in" at the end of the month.

"The issue of deportation will only kick in and apply to those who were here in the country illegally."

However, a number of these people who did have legal documentation would either need to move back into their former communities or find alternative accommodation.

"Government once again calls on communities, community organisations, religious formations and civil society in general to work with (refugees) to ensure their reintegration into communities," he said.

Foreign nationals were displaced from their communities when violence broke out across the country in May.

An earlier version of this story misquoted Maseko as saying that deportation applied to those "who were here in the country legally". It was supposed to read "legally".

- SAPA