The South African Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, has announced R600 million (36.4 million US dollars at the current exchange rate) plan to address the xenophobic unrest and threats against foreign citizens on 30 June.
In recent months, various South African nationals have been carrying out anti-migrant protests against Africans, including Mozambicans. The focus of these xenophobic acts, which have been recurring, has been black Africans.
Discrimination against foreign nationals has also been leading to looting, displacement, harassment, and deadly riots, in informal settlements.
Anti-immigrant group, March and March, plans to bring the country to a standstill in a national shutdown protest on 30 June. The group demands immediate and mass deportation of illegal immigrants living in South Africa. They have blamed illegal immigrants for several social problems, including the high levels of crime and unemployment in South Africa.
According to the minister, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security (JCPS) Cluster will monitor social media and consider using drones to monitor threats against foreign citizens.
“As JCPS and as a country, we want to see if we can share resources where we have drones to detect if there are blockages. Where we have resources, we will share resources. The cost of deploying police to mitigate potential threats would be around R600 million,” he said.
“The people involved in efforts of destabilization should know that we are deploying on the basis of our constitutional responsibility to keep the country safe”, Cachalia added.
More than 700 Mozambicans have been forced to abandon their homes and livelihoods, while others face an environment of insecurity marked by threats, assaults, and the destruction of property.
Recently, Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Lucas, guaranteed that diplomatic efforts with the South African government are underway in order to strengthen the protection of Mozambican communities.
The remains of the seven Mozambican nationals killed in the current wave of xenophobic attacks have been repatriated. The victims, who were killed in the South African region of Mossel Bay, were all from the southern Mozambican province of Gaza province. Their remains have been returned to the districts of Majaquaze, Chókwè, Chigubo and Limpopo.