The Department of International Relations and Corporation (DIRCO) has confirmed that South Africans, who were stranded in Egypt due to a lack of required documents, have been granted permission to enter the country.
Egyptian authorities issued a release order to the 22 South Africans stranded on a cargo ship in Port Safaga, Egypt, allowing them to leave the ship.
The group, who have been stranded in Egypt since April 29, after fleeing war-torn Sudan, made contact with the Gift of the Givers on Monday.
DIRCO says the citizens will now fly back to South Africa via Ethiopia. The order requires a representative from the South African government to sign them off at Port Safaga before they travel to Hurghada Airport, where they will fly to Cairo via Addis Ababa to Cape Town.
Gift of the Givers’ Imitiaz Sooliman says, “I had a discussion with intelligence services at 4:45 this morning, somebody with be sent to the port to sign them off, they will move to the port to Hurghada Airport, which is the closest airport.”
“They will fly to Cairo and try to make arrangements to make sure the flights are still valid and the tickets are still valid to fly via Addis Ababa to Cape Town. In the event they have some difficulty with that we will intervene and speaks to the general manager of Ethiopian Airlines in Cape Town. Hopefully, with a smooth outcome, these people can finally come home.”
Gift of the Givers’ Imitiaz Sooliman:
According to department spokesperson Clayson Monyela, all South Africans known to the DIRCO have been evacuated from the war-torn country.
“The lesson from this experience is that private companies who choose to make their own travel arrangements for their employees in a situation like the one at okay currently in Sudan it is always beneficial to inform because there are processes that have to be complied with. There are certain interventions that can only be made by the government.
