No compensation will come from government” – minister says informal structures are illegal
The South African government has rejected Nigeria’s request for compensation for citizens who abandoned businesses and property while fleeing renewed xenophobic attacks.
Nigeria had said it was compiling records of losses suffered by returnees as a basis for engaging Pretoria on possible compensation.
—“There’s no compensation that will come from government”—
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Speaking at a press conference on Friday, South Africa’s Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, dismissed the proposal outright.
“There’s no compensation that will come from government,” Ntshavheni said.
She argued that legally owned properties are registered and can be sold through South Africa’s property market. But structures in informal settlements, she said, have no legal standing.
“Squatter camps and informal settlements are never properties because they are illegal in the country. So you are already violating our law if you are going to tell us about a shack in some informal settlement,” she said.
Ntshavheni added that the government would welcome information on “drug dens” allegedly run by Nigerians.
“We’ll be interested to know where the drug dens of Nigerians are. So they can show us where they have been holding the drugs so that we can clean the drugs in South Africa quite urgently,” she said.
—Nigeria begins documenting losses—
Earlier this week, Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, said the Federal Government had started documenting properties and businesses abandoned by Nigerians to facilitate talks on compensation.
The move followed fresh waves of xenophobic violence targeting African migrants in South Africa, which forced many Nigerians to leave amid safety concerns.
—New measures on informal settlements—
Ntshavheni also disclosed that Cabinet has approved new measures to prevent the re-establishment of informal settlements after demolitions.
“Those who leave their properties, if they are properly legally registered in the country, they can dispose of the properties in the property market in South Africa — whether it’s movable or immovable property,” she said.
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The rejection sets the stage for a diplomatic tussle between Africa’s two largest economies, as Nigeria pushes to protect its citizens abroad and South Africa insists on enforcing its property and immigration laws. [With Vanguard report]
