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HOME AFFAIRS FACES NEW CASE OVER FAILURE TO OPEN REFUGEE OFFICE IN CT

Source: EWN, 11/05/2018


CAPE TOWN - The Home Affairs Department’s failure to open a Cape Town
Refugee Reception office is being challenged in court.
It’s not the first time.
Home Affairs says it’s still waiting on the Department of Public Works
to find suitable premises for the office.

In December, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the department to open
an office by the end of March.
The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, the Somali Association of South
Africa and the Legal Resources Centre have launched a new case to get
the department to comply with an order to open a Refugee Reception
office.
Scalabrini’s Miranda Madikane said: “We want to affect the court order
and not to punish those responsible for not obeying the law. We’ve
asked the High Court to appoint a special master to arbitrate the
process.”
The organisations are also seeking a judgment relating to the renewal
of asylum permits in Cape Town in cases where applications were lodged
in other parts of South Africa.
The Cape Town office has been closed for almost six years and,
currently, new asylum seekers cannot apply at Customs House on the
Foreshore.
Home Affairs says it’s still waiting on the Department of Public Works
to find suitable premises for the office.


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