selection centre at Beit Bridge border
24 August 2006
The much awaited opening of the Beit Bridge reception and recruitment centre
is to take place at the SA/Zimbabwe border tomorrow morning Friday, 25 August
2006.
The centre will be inaugurated by Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana and
his Zimbabwean counterpart Nicholas Goche. The two Ministers will be joined by
South African Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. The event follows
the site inspections that were conducted by Mdladlana and Goche in January this
year.
The office, a first of its kind in Africa, will help Zimbabweans seeking
employment in South Africa with legal papers and will be the major recipient of
about 2 000 Zimbabwean deportees who are repatriated on a weekly basis from
South Africa.
The centre will also provide deportees and other people in need of legal
documents with food and other basic amenities while their documents are being
sorted out.
The office includes among others, an HIV/AIDS counselling centre. It will
also serve as the centre point for the World Food Programme Support.
Both Ministers had earlier said the office will help to reduce illegal
migration and the abuse of Zimbabweans by unscrupulous employers who take
advantage of the vulnerable status of Zimbabwean workers.
The media are invited and the details are as follows:
Venue: The Beit Bridge Reception and Support Centre
Time: 08h00
Date: 25 August 2006
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
24 August 2006
