The temporary shelter on Mayor’s Walk is now empty after the successful repatriation of undocumented Malawians.
Image: Supplied
The closure of the temporary shelter on Mayor’s Walk, Dales Park in Pietermaritzburg, where over 7,000 undocumented Malawian nationals sought shelter, coincided with the June 30 ‘deadline’ for undocumented nationals to leave South Africa.
Msunduzi Municipality Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla announced the closure on Tuesday and said: “During the past few days, we have been able to process more than 7,000 people of Malawian origin, and all of them have now left with 114 buses that really assisted us.”
Thebolla said that through the coordinated efforts of the municipality, government departments, and various stakeholders, over 7,000 Malawian nationals were processed and moved through the repatriation arrangements.
He thanked the community on the same road as the temporary site for their patience, noting that it is a peaceful, quiet area, and apologised for the disturbance they had to endure over the past week.
Items belonging to Malawian nationals who had sought shelter in a condemned KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure building were left behind during repatriation.
Image: Supplied
“But this was humanitarian work; we had to do something. Otherwise, we don’t know what would have happened to these more than 7,000 people from Malawi,” Thebolla said.
The mayor also thanked all stakeholders who helped ensure this process was handled in a safe, orderly, and humane manner. This includes government departments, humanitarian organisations, security services, law enforcement agencies, and all partners who have provided support
“I further extend my appreciation to the dedicated municipal teams who worked tirelessly on the ground, including our operations, cleansing, security, and support services teams, whose commitment and professionalism assisted in ensuring the successful management of this process.”
Thebolla assured the community that following the closure of the site, the cleanup campaign has started.
Municipal teams clean up the site of the former shelter on Mayor’s Walk, Pietermaritzburg.
Image: Supplied
He said municipal teams have been deployed to remove accumulated waste, restore the area, and ensure the site is returned to acceptable environmental and public standards.
“Our teams will work overnight to ensure that in the next two or three days this place is spick and span. That’s a commitment we are making to our people.”
The site is a building owned by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, which the Malawian nationals illegally occupied without consent, after pushing past security personnel over a week ago.
Last week, MEC Martin Meyer said that when the building was empty again, they would immediately brick up all entrances, as done with the Palm Beach Hotel.
Municipal teams worked diligently to restore the area following the closure of the shelter.
Image: Supplied
“We will not just put wood; we will brick up the doors and lock that gate again so that access to that building will be impossible going forward. Purely because, again, as I have to stress, that building is unsafe and we just don’t want anyone to be injured,” Meyer said at the time.