South Africa Deportation Costs Were Misreported by a Factor of 100
SOUTH AFRICA · MIGRATION
Key Facts
- —The claim That South Africa spent 17 billion rand, about US$1 billion, deporting people over two years.
- —What went wrong A decimal point. The real figure was 175,149,080.34 rand, or about US$10.8 million.
- —Where it came from A written parliamentary answer by the home affairs minister, answered on 3 September.
- —What that money bought 111,464 deportations across two financial years.
- —The other number in circulation 341.2 million rand, about US$21 million. It covers something else entirely.
- —What that one bought 99,933 departures in seven weeks, of which about 90% were voluntary rather than forced.
A wrong number about immigration travelled around South Africa for a week before anyone moved the decimal point back. The real figures are more interesting than the false one.
South Africa did not spend 17 billion rand on deportations. It spent about 175 million, and the gap between those two numbers is one misplaced decimal point.
How the Number Broke
On 7 September, SABC News carried a figure from Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber. South Africa had spent 17 billion rand on deportations over two years.
That is roughly US$1 billion at current rates, in a country where the entire home affairs budget is a fraction of that.
The true figure in the minister’s written parliamentary answer was 175,149,080.34 rand, about US$10.8 million.
The error was a dropped decimal point. The department corrected it the same day, the Democratic Alliance issued a correction on 9 September, and SABC published an editor’s note.
Africa Check published a debunk on 14 September, noting the false figure was still circulating on Facebook a week later.
What the Real Figure Covers
The 175.1 million rand spans two financial years, 2024 and 2025 and 2025 and 2026.
The first year cost 101,773,704.72 rand for 51,650 deportations. The second cost 73,375,375.62 rand for 59,814.
That is 111,464 deportations in total, at an average of roughly 1,571 rand each, about US$97.
The answers replied to written questions from two MPs, Mariam Muhammad and Liezl van der Merwe. They were answered on 3 September.
The Second Number, and Why It Is Not the Correction
A separate figure of 341.2 million rand, about US$21 million, is often paired with the corrected one. They measure different things.
It covers the repatriation surge that followed the anti-immigration protests from 30 June, running to 18 August. Home affairs presented it to the parliamentary committee on 26 August.
It covers 99,933 departures over seven weeks. Of those, 89,936 were voluntary or assisted repatriations and 9,997 were forced deportations.
So about nine in ten of those people were not deported. They accepted a bus.
Buses took 232.8 million rand of it. Temporary facilities at Musina took 48 million, staff overtime 13 million and chartered flights 8.7 million.
Who Left
The nationalities in the seven-week surge tell their own story about southern African labour migration.
Malawians were the largest group at 54,541, followed by Zimbabweans at 27,920 and Mozambicans at 2,417. Nigerians numbered 1,145.
The cost worked out at about 3,414 rand a person, roughly US$210. That is what a long-distance bus costs when you charter enough of them.
Home affairs flagged a shortfall of around 300 million rand and asked Treasury for unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure.
Why the Wrong Number Spread So Easily
South Africa is in the middle of an intense argument about immigration, six weeks before local elections.
A figure of 17 billion rand fits a story that the state is spending vast sums on foreigners. A figure of 175 million does not.
The corrected numbers point somewhere else. Removing people from South Africa is cheap, most of those leaving go voluntarily, and the volume is enormous.
For foreign residents, the useful detail is the distinction between a deportation and an assisted return. One creates a re-entry ban and a record. The other does not.
More: Africa news and analysis, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did South Africa spend 17 billion rand on deportations?
No. The figure was 175,149,080.34 rand, about US$10.8 million, over two financial years.
How did the error happen?
A decimal point was dropped from the figure in a written parliamentary answer.
How many people were deported?
111,464 across the two financial years covered by that figure.
What is the 341.2 million rand figure?
A separate seven-week repatriation operation from 30 June to 18 August 2026, costing about US$21 million.
Were those 99,933 people deported?
Mostly not. 89,936 were voluntary or assisted returns and 9,997 were forced deportations.
Who corrected the error?
The Department of Home Affairs, the Democratic Alliance, SABC itself and Africa Check.
Sources: Department of Home Affairs written parliamentary replies, Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Africa Check, SABC News, The Citizen.
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