Struggling authorities are now trying to move people to a new makeshift repatriation site closer to the border in Musina, Limpopo

The Old Drive-in site in Durban, which has been a temporary repatriation site for displaced immigrants since last week, is to be relocated to Musina in Limpopo. But a lack of buses has delayed the relocation, with more people arriving at the site.

On Saturday, the eThekwini municipality said it had resolved to relocate the Malawian nationals from the site in Durban to a newly established makeshift repatriation site closer to the border in Musina, Limpopo.

When GroundUp contacted Mandla Nsele, marketing and communications director for eThekwini, to ask about a timeline, he said that they were aiming to have everyone out of the site by Monday. But he acknowledged they were also struggling to organise enough buses.

By midday on Sunday, no buses had left for the Musina site. They were also still collating the numbers for how many people had left the site yesterday, he said.

On Sunday morning, there were no people getting on buses and no indication that buses were nearing departures. At about 10:30am guards opened the gates to hundreds more people who had been lining up outside.

According to the national government, more than 15,000 Malawian nationals have been deported or voluntarily repatriated since the processing began.

The municipality has urged people to stop directing displaced immigrants to the site.

The new Musina site aims to speed up the process of repatriation and reduce pressure at other repatriation sites, according to the eThekwini statement.