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'Refugees threaten stability'
03/08/2007 15:47 - (SA)
Cape Town - The tens of thousands of Zimbabwean refugees streaming south are a threat to South Africa's stability, says Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Their numbers had increased from 4 000 a month in 2004, to 20 000 a month, he said in his weekly newsletter on Friday.
"The flood of refugees is ... having an impact on South Africa's economic and social stability.
"Economists believe we have shed three percent of our annual GDP (gross domestic product) because of the cost of taking care of (them)," he said.
At the Musina border crossing, police believed illegal immigrants were crossing at a rate of 3 000 a day.
"They manage to intercept less than 200 of them," said Buthelezi, who is a former minister of home affairs.
He said South Africa had a moral obligation to help the refugees, but Zimbabwe's crisis should not divert attention from those back home who needed help in the face of acute poverty.
He said strong and properly resourced local government was needed to lead the fight against poverty.
"Local government is closer to the hopes, needs and aspirations of the people. It is also closer to practical solutions," he said.
On Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said the influx of Zimbabwean refugees was a "serious problem" requiring action.
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