SA Home Affairs: R17 Billion Deportation Error Clarified to R175 Million

• Social media posts from September 2026 falsely claimed South Africa spent R17 billion on deportations over two financial years.
• Minister Leon Schreiber's official parliamentary reply confirmed 111,464 deportations between 2024/25 and 2025/26 at a total cost of R175,149,080.34.
• The R17 billion error originated from a misreported SABC article on 7 September 2026, likely due to a decimal point misinterpretation.
• The Department of Home Affairs and the Democratic Alliance promptly corrected the SABC, which subsequently updated its article to reflect the R175 million figure.
• Despite corrections, the R17 billion figure continues to circulate, emphasizing the need for legal and financial advisors to verify government statistics against official sources.

For legal professionals advising on South African immigration or public finance, understanding the true South Africa deportation spending is paramount.

A significant factual error regarding the South African government's expenditure on deportations has been widely disseminated across social media platforms, particularly on Facebook since early September 2026. These posts falsely claim that the nation spent an exorbitant R17 billion on the deportation of migrants over the past two financial years. This figure was often attributed to Minister Leon Schreiber, the country's home affairs minister, contributing to a narrative that gained traction amidst heightened anti-migrant sentiment and related demonstrations that displaced foreign-born individuals in various parts of the country.

The Department of Home Affairs has since clarified that the actual amount spent is substantially lower, standing at R175 million, not the widely reported R17 billion. This discrepancy originated from an initial news article that has since been corrected, yet the erroneous figure continues to circulate and generate engagement online, underscoring the challenge of rectifying misinformation once it takes hold.

The accurate figures for South Africa's deportation spending were provided in an official parliamentary reply by Minister Leon Schreiber. Member of Parliament Liezl van der Merwe had posed a question weeks prior, seeking details on the number of migrants deported, the total cost incurred, and the destination countries over the preceding two years.

In his response, Minister Schreiber confirmed that a total of 111,464 individuals were deported during the combined 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. The precise total cost for these operations was reported as R175,149,080.34, a figure dramatically different from the R17 billion widely propagated in social media posts.

The R17 billion figure initially gained prominence through a news article published by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on 7 September 2026. The SABC report erroneously stated that Minister Schreiber had declared the government's total expenditure for the two financial years at R17 billion, attributing this figure to the very same parliamentary response that detailed the R175 million amount. It appears the error likely stemmed from a misinterpretation of the numerical value R175,149,080.34, potentially by omitting the decimal point, which would lead to a massive exaggeration of the actual cost.

Prompt action was taken to rectify this significant misreporting. On the same day the SABC article was published, the Department of Home Affairs issued a correction. Furthermore, on 9 September, the Democratic Alliance, Minister Schreiber's political party, released a media statement disputing the SABC's figure and clarifying the correct amount. The SABC subsequently updated its original article, revising the expenditure to R175 million and adding an editor's note confirming the story had been updated to reflect Minister Schreiber's parliamentary response accurately.

Despite the swift corrections from both the Department of Home Affairs and the SABC itself, the inflated R17 billion figure continues to circulate widely on social media, generating considerable public engagement. This persistence of misinformation highlights a critical challenge for public discourse and the accurate understanding of government operations.

For legal professionals advising on South African immigration or public finance, understanding the true South Africa deportation spending is paramount. The discrepancy between the widely circulated R17 billion deportation error and the actual R175 million expenditure underscores the imperative to verify government statistics against official parliamentary replies. Relying on unverified social media claims or uncorrected news reports can lead to inaccurate client advice and a distorted view of the SA Home Affairs deportation budget and Minister Leon Schreiber's reported deportation costs.

Lawyers advising on South African immigration or public finance should note the corrected government expenditure on deportations (R175 million, not R17 billion) to ensure accurate client advice. This highlights the critical need to verify government statistics against official parliamentary replies to counter widespread misinformation.

Source: Original reporting via Africa Check