The country has received only 36 asylum seekers at the Malindza Refugee Reception Centre, the Ministry of Home Affairs has revealed.
This comes amid growing anti-immigration protests led by the March to March movement in South Africa.
This was revealed by Lomahasha Member of Parliament Zanele Mashaba, who is the vice chairperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs portfolio committee.
This was in response to questions by Mhlume MP Sifiso Magagula and MP Tsembeni Magongo, who had asked what the ministry has done to prepare for an influx of people deported or repatriated from South Africa.
The concern by the legislators came after reports from DW media publications revealed that authorities in South Africa said they have deported more than 100,000 undocumented migrants over the past two years and prevented approximately 450,000 attempted illegal border crossings in the past year.
This then raised concern over a possible influx, as the country is a neighbouring country to South Africa. This also prompted a motion in Parliament, as MPs wanted to know what government was doing to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants into Eswatini because of the anti-immigration protest in SA.
“The ministry is monitoring the situation and has sought advice from partners such as UNHCR and IOM. Every case that is reported is profiled to determine those in need of international protection,” said the ministry in its responses.
The ministry also added that the Malindza Refugee Reception Centre has so far received 36 asylum seekers and that the department has prepared a contingency plan.
The ministry added that it has also held meetings with the security forces and requested that they protect the borders of the country.
“We have also scheduled patrols inside the country with the help of armed forces,” the ministry said.
