Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Editor
GOVERNMENT says the process of repatriating nationals in South Africa is progressing well with buses dispatched across different areas.
In a statement, the Department of Presidential Communications in the Office of the President and Cabinet said as of this Tuesday, three buses with returnees have left Cape Town for the Beitbridge Border Post while two other buses left Cape Town for Johannesburg for speedier processing of returnees before proceeding to the Beitbridge Border Post.
Two other buses are on their way from Port Elizabeth.
Epping Repatriation Centre still has some 1 000 Zimbabweans who will be ferried home once their processing is complete, with buses already available for their transportation home.
The statement said 11 buses are on standby at Zimbabwe’s Old Chancery in Johannesburg, where 600 Zimbabweans are being processed, with five more buses stationed at Power House where 300 Zimbabweans are being processed pending their departure for Zimbabwe.
A total of 12 buses from different set-off points, including Durban, also left Johannesburg on Monday night.
According to the department, the Government of Zimbabwe is funding the repatriation of nationals and has availed all buses on which Zimbabweans are travelling, noting that the Embassy of Zimbabwe and its Consulates’ staff have been re-deployed to facilitate the evacuation of all citizens willing to come back home.
Government further expressed gratitude to all United Nations Agencies for assisting with the evacuation process, adding that cooperation between the Government of Zimbabwe and the Government of South Africa remains excellent and empathetic.
