Mbabane: TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is still undergoing the registration of emaSwati who will be repatriated from South Africa.
On Tuesday, Independent News reported that the South African government is denying Eswatini government to repatriate emaSwati locked in South African, but the ministry has come out to clarify and set the record straight on the matter. The ministry has elucidated that it has not yet approached the South African government but still undergoing the process of registering the Eswatini citizens who are in South Africa.
The ministry’s Under Secretary Jennifer Neves told this publication that government is going to give priority to those who are stranded or distressed.
Neves explained that once the registration process is completed, a formal request will be made to the South African government, “in line with the standard diplomatic practice, for the repatriation of our citizens.”
“An official permission for doing this must be sought and obtained from the National Joint Committee which seats in Pretoria” said Neves.
She further highlighted that the South African government is currently processing medical Visas only. Other permits like work and study permits were suspended.
When asked how long will the process take, Neves said all requests for movement into, out of or within South Africa are directed to the national joint committee, adding that these are requests not only from Eswatini but also from all the other frontline states (Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique). “We are hopeful that this process won’t take too long but we can’t say definitively because it is the process and decision of another sovereign government,” she said.
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