Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) said yesterday it requires K24.6 billion to repatriate 15 000 Malawians stranded in South Africa following the ongoing xenophobic attacks in the Rainbow Nation.
Dodma Commissioner Wilson Moleni disclosed this yesterday when he, alongside officials from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services, appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations to brief lawmakers on progress in coordinating the voluntary repatriation.
He said the budget was developed in consultation with various stakeholders.
Moleni said K16.8 billion has been allocated to transportation of which K2 billion is for transport support for affected individuals, K14.5 billion for bus hires and K83.5 million for fuel.
A further K1.1 billion has been earmarked for reception services, including K792 million for food, K141 million for shelter and K108 million for social protection.
Support for coordination teams is estimated at K2.4 billion while camp management operations in South Africa are projected to cost K4.2 billion, bringing the estimated budget to K24.6 billion.
Moleni said Dodma is facing serious financial constraints in its efforts to repatriate Malawians from South Africa; hence, the financial appeal the department made earlier this week.
He said the number of Malawians in need of repatriation continues to rise as the June 30 deadline for foreigners to leave the country approaches.
So far, government has facilitated the return of 819 of the 10 000 that had initially expressed willingness to be repatriated.
“To date, 819 Malawian nationals have been repatriated from the Republic of South Africa. Of these, 661 are expected to arrive in Blantyre on Wednesday [yesterday] June 17 2026. Government has so far spent K787 637 787.08 on bus hire, transport support to returnees, food; [water, sanitation and hygiene] materials, coordination and shelter.
“We continue mobilising additional resources for transportation and reintegration while strengthening coordination with South African authorities and humanitarian partners,” said Moleni.
However, he lamented that foreign exchange shortages are hampering Dodma’s efforts to contract buses.
He said the department has largely been limited to engaging Malawian bus operators who can be paid in Malawi kwacha although this arrangement is becoming difficult due to fuel procurement challenges when the buses reach foreign lands where forex is required.
But Department of Immigration director general Dennis Chipao said they will deploy additional personnel to help with the situation and facilitate the registration of returning Malawians.
He said many Malawians lack passports, national identity cards, birth certificates and other proof of nationality, making it difficult to process their repatriation.
Meanwhile, the committee’s vice-chairperson Frank Mwenifumbo said the situation should be treated as a national crisis requiring urgent intervention.
He said the committee will engage Treasury to release funds to support the repatriation of stranded Malawians.
