The South African government has firmly rejected Nigeria’s request for compensation over properties and businesses left behind by Nigerians fleeing recent xenophobic violence, insisting that legally owned assets are protected under South African law and do not require government payouts.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Nigerians who hold properly registered properties, vehicles, or businesses remain free to dispose of them through the regular property market.
“If you own a property in South Africa, those who leave their properties, if they are properly legally registered in the country, they can dispose of the properties in the property market in South Africa, whether it’s movable or immovable property,” Ntshavheni said.
She emphasised that ownership of such assets is formally documented, rendering government compensation unnecessary. Houses are registered with the Deeds Office, vehicles with the NATIS system, and businesses with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).
Ntshavheni also ruled out any compensation for structures in informal settlements, describing them as illegal under South African law. “Informal squatter camps and settlements are never properties because they are illegal in the country,” she said. “So there is no compensation that will come from government.”
The minister’s comments, however, drew controversy when she called on Nigeria to identify locations allegedly used for drug-related activities by some Nigerians. “We’ll be interested to know where the drug dens of Nigerians are so they can show us where they’ve been holding the drugs so that we can clean the drugs in South Africa quite urgently,” Ntshavheni said.
Her remarks came shortly after Nigeria announced plans to seek redress for its citizens affected by the violence. Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Temitope Ajayi, said on July 1 that returnees had been instructed to document businesses, vehicles, and other properties abandoned during their hasty departure.
Ajayi noted that discussions had already taken place with South Africa’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, and that Nigeria intends to compile detailed records of the locations and value of affected assets to present to the South African government.
“We are going to work with the South African government to get to the exact locations of all these businesses, shops and properties and present them to the South African government for possible compensation,” he said. “We will not allow the labour people have suffered to build over the years to just go down the drain or be taken over by people.”
Nigeria has so far evacuated more than 850 of its citizens in four batches amid the unrest. The Federal Government, through Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has reiterated its commitment to the safe return of affected nationals while maintaining diplomatic engagement with Pretoria.
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