Lawyers for the state and a group of people displaced by xenophobic violence will return to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday in the hope of settling whether shelters for the displaced should remain open.
On Monday, the judges suggested mediation as a possible solution to the dispute over the future of the temporary shelters set up to house the victims of the violence.
More than 60 people were killed, hundreds injured and nearly 20 ,000 displaced in a wave of xenophobic violence that started in Alexandra, Johannesburg, on May 12 and swept through the province and other parts of the country.
Gauteng authorities set up seven tent camps to temporarily house the displaced. One of the camps has since been closed.
The provincial government originally planned to close the rest by July 31, but extended the deadline to August 15. It has since undertaken not to close the camps until the court matter is finalised.
The Constitutional Court judges on Monday questioned why lawyers for the refugees did not appeal directly to the Pretoria High Court, which last week dismissed their application to keep the camps open until the government produced a reintegration plan.
The foreigners are asking the government to come up with a reintegration plan, publish it for public comment within 30 days and implement it within 60 days.
Their lawyers argue that the matter is urgent and, because they feel it is in the interests of justice, the Constitutional Court is the best option.
The Gauteng provincial government believes many of the displaced have safely returned to their communities and so the rest should be able to do so too.
People interviewed at the camps have said they were too scared to go back to the same places and that they don’t have money for accommodation.
The Jesuit Refugee Services is paying a once-off grant for accommodation. The money has to be paid into the bank account of the displaced person, or to a landlord. This, said the intended recipients, is difficult because they don’t have bank accounts, or the landlords want cash. — Sapa