Pretoria – About 10 South African students who were studying in Ukraine are expected to arrive in Joburg this morning, as millions of people flee the country in Eastern Europe.
An advisory issued to journalists on Wednesday night by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the plane ferrying the students would arrive at OR Tambo International Airport at about 11am on Thursday.
South African citizen Kaone Molefe landed at the OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, where he thanked well-wishers especially the Pakistani government and missionaries who helped him to flee war-torn Ukraine through several countries including Poland and Germany.
“There was no monetary assistance from the (South African) embassy. To be honest, I made my way through. I connected myself through various organisations. I just want to applaud the Pakistani government because I met a Pakistani resident who helped me navigate and connect with all these missionaries,” Molefe told television channel Newzroom Afrika after he arrived to a warm welcome from his family.
Molefe said he was aware that other African governments had provided evacuation facilities for their citizens trapped in Ukraine.
“I also want to thank the missionaries that have done some great work. It’s difficult to get back at a time like this, but I must say a lot more Europeans are giving more than they should. There is nothing that you can say you need. They provide shelter, baby food, food, clothing, toiletries – whatever you need, you name it and they have it,” he said.
“I just wish it was like that in Africa. I just wish our government could go far beyond the means to ensure that as residents and citizens we are safe. The Nigerian government just flew out (its citizens) … a flight landed yesterday in Abuja. Our country cannot say the same. It’s just sad.”
At the time, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation said it had an operational evacuation plan for South Africans stuck in the war-torn region.
“We are trying to get people into neighbouring countries, where we do have representation. From there, they are coming to South Africa using the usual means of transport. That, in the main, is what we are doing,” said Lunga Ngqengelele, spokesperson for the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Dr Naledi Pandor.
“The challenge we are having is that we are not obliged by law to know about everyone who is in Ukraine or anywhere. But from the moment this (war) went on, we called upon people to register and we kept them informed with information and when the flights could fly, we made sure that we made them aware of the flights. We also worked on getting people to the borders to ensure they find means of coming back.”
Some of the South Africans arriving from Ukraine have complained that South Africans were not provided monetary assistance and neither did they receive tickets to return home or chartered planes, as other nations did.
Ngqengelele said in South African law, which governs the Department of International Relations, there was no provision for such a budget unless the decision was made by the Cabinet.
“By law, we are not allowed to offer any form of financial assistance. This also happens when someone dies overseas. We only offer consular services which means we help people with paperwork. We do encourage South Africans that when they travel overseas, they take up insurance. The Auditor-General would find us wanting if we provide financial assistance. It would be against the law,” Ngqengelele told IOL.
“What we did, for example with bringing back students from China during Covid-19 pandemic, it took a Cabinet decision. By law generally, we are not mandated to make that decision on our own.”
IOL