About 74% of Ghanaians who were recently evacuated from South Africa amid the growing violent xenophobic attacks were declared undesirable through established legal procedures as they had overstayed their visas, the country’s International Relations Minister, Ronald Lamola, has revealed.

“As I've said earlier on, with the bulk of all Ghanaians that have come back home, almost 74% had overstayed, and they had been declared undesirable through our processes, and this is the law, and this has been communicated to the High Commissioner,” Mr Lamola stated during an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, June 10.

However, he argues that despite the status of these foreign nationals, whether legal or illegal, his government remains committed to protecting all persons within its borders, including Ghanaian nationals.

He indicated that Ghanaians have already remained a major contributor to their economy.

“We are indeed protecting all people within the borders of South Africa. Constitutionally, we are duty-bound to protect everyone, including Ghanaian nationals.

“There is a huge number of them in the various sectors of our economy. The South African government is duty-bound to ensure that they feel safe and they play their role as they are supposed to be in the country,” he indicated.

He stressed that constitutional protections extend to everyone living in South Africa, irrespective of their immigration status.

“The Constitution does not differentiate. The government has the responsibility to make sure that everyone is safe,” he said.

The remarks were made as the government condemned violence against foreign nationals and reiterated its obligation to guarantee the safety of all residents.

“It is for that reason why we are condemning the violence against foreign nationals, because it is our duty as the government of South Africa to protect everyone within our borders,” Mr Lamola explained.

At the same time, he said the government would continue tackling irregular migration through the strict enforcement of immigration laws.

“We also have a duty to deal with irregular migration by enforcing the immigration policy,” he stated.