(MENAFN) The South African government is accelerating efforts within the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security Cluster to draft legislation enabling the transfer of foreign nationals serving sentences in South African prisons back to their home countries.

Leading the initiative, Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald is engaged in talks with Southern African Development Community (SADC) nations to establish bilateral agreements that would facilitate repatriation once the legal framework is in place.

South Africa currently houses over 24,000 foreign prisoners, imposing an enormous financial strain on the correctional system—costing approximately R11,112,000 daily to maintain this population.

The issue has drawn urgent attention from Members of Parliament across party lines. ActionSA's Delereen James and the MK Party's David Skosana both expressed concern over the swelling numbers of foreign inmates and the resulting fiscal and operational pressures.

James questioned Minister Groenewald on the department’s actions to streamline deportation procedures, citing the rising foreign prisoner count and the significant resource drain.

Skosana sought clarity on whether any foreign prisoners had been repatriated since April 1 and when deportations might resume.

In his reply, Groenewald acknowledged the absence of current bilateral agreements for repatriating foreign national prisoners.

“South Africa does not have enabling domestic legislation to regulate and facilitate the transfer of sentenced foreign offenders, including South Africans incarcerated in foreign countries, to serve their sentences in their countries of origin,” he stated.

“The department is at an advanced stage of consultation within the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security Cluster to formalise the interstate transfer of sentenced offenders, as there is currently no legal provision for transferring sentenced foreign nationals to their country of origin.”

This legislative push aims to reduce the financial and logistical burdens on South Africa’s prisons by enabling a more efficient system for handling foreign inmates.

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