The eThekwini Municipality says more than 20,000 foreign nationals were processed and repatriated during last month's operation, with the temporary transit site at the Durban Drive-in now officially closed.
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said the departure of the final three buses on Wednesday marked the completion of the repatriation process and the closure of the temporary camp.
Clean-up operations are now underway at the site, which had accommodated thousands of foreign nationals awaiting transport to their respective countries.
During a visit to the site on Wednesday, Xaba said the operation also resulted in the arrest of several individuals who had pending criminal cases in South Africa. He said those suspects would remain in the country to face legal proceedings.
Xaba said the majority of people processed at the facility were Malawian nationals.
“Close to 95%, if not more, of the people who were on the site were the Malawians. It does not mean that only Malawians left the country. Zimbabwe was a bit organised because they had representatives in various communities who were able to gather their own nationals and communicated with the Office of the Consul General in Gauteng, who then provided them with transport. So, they did not have to come to us for transport,” he said.
He added that the municipality's immediate priority is restoring the site, which is a popular recreational and tourism destination.
“What is remaining now for us is to clean the site up. By this weekend, the site must be ready. Remember, this is a tourist site,” Xaba said.
Municipal teams are expected to complete the clean-up by the end of the week as the site is prepared to reopen to the public.