centre at Beit Bridge
21 August 2006
In a major boost aimed at curbing illegal migration, cheap labour, the abuse
of labour laws and rampant crime, Labour Ministers of South Africa and Zimbabwe
will officially open an office at the Beit Bridge border post on Friday.
The official opening follows site inspections that were conducted by both
Minister Membathisi Mdladlana and his Zimbabwean counterpart Nicholas 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 the Zimbabwean workers.
The media are invited and the detail of venue is 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
21 August 2006
