The Rwandan government has defended the controversial asylum agreement but said it only has the capacity to hold 200 migrants currently.
The African nation had originally agreed to take up to 1,000 migrants from the UK in a trial deal worth £120million.
The government has now said one hotel, Hope Hostel in Kigali, is prepared to receive migrants but has a maximum capacity of 200 people.
Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the Rwandan government said: “We’re looking into infrastructure development, we have identified other accommodation developments.”
Ms Makolo did add, however, that the government has the ability to “scale up very quickly”, in order to increase the numbers it can receive.
She also condemned critics and those who implied that Africa is “full of disease and no opportunities”.
“We are still seen as a problematic place, a place of problems. This is not something that we want.
“Africa is also a source of solutions. This is an innovative solution to a global problem,” Ms Makolo said.
“The UNHCR has always praised Rwanda’s open-door policy.
“In the last couple of years, both the head of the UNHCR and his deputy have visited Rwanda, and they have been very effusive about what a welcoming country Rwanda is.
Accommodation seems like the least challenging problem to solve in getting this plan up and running, months / years of legal battles first
Gee you wouldn’t think they had just turfed a load of people out of that very same hostel
(who coincidently, are the very people it was built for following the genocide)
Well over half a million each then. Why not offer them 50k stuffed in a case to apply for residency in France and save 90% of the cost?
Hang on, we’re paying Rwanda £120 Million to host 200 immigrants in a hotel?
Does Priti want to get rid of them THAT much?
200 out of 15000 channel crossings this year alone.
The Rwanda policy doesnt work.
Shit deal for the UK (and morally repugnant), but fair play to Rwanda honestly. If you’re presented with an opportunity to rip off idiot Tories, why wouldn’t you take it?
Were paying them £120mil to take 1,000 refugees? W H A T
It’s always been a PR gimmick lol
They’ve taken the money and pulled a bait and switch.
£120 million to remove 200 immigrants. This policy brought you by the party of ‘fiscal responsibility’.
A great advertising campaign for Patel’s policy on immigrants though, one I am sure she will try to continue under the new leader. It was all about sending a message to voters and migrants alike about the consequences of what will happen to those who try to enter the UK via the Channel. Her next idea will be in a similar vain to this.
Wait, deals have to be agreed by both parties and not dictated by one side? Why were the Tories not informed of this (10 years ago)!
We’re paying them 120,000 per migrant? Why not just give the migrants some money to not come here if we’re that bothered—-fuck give it to the people smugglers to not smuggle them
It’s like the African country who rather than spent money on anti poaching police just gave the money to the poachers…which meant they didn’t have to poach
this is stupid.
time to get hard on immigrants entering illegally and for anyone that claims i have an issue with immigrants……no only the illegal ones playing on the hearts of people claiming to be something they aren’t.
Good, now that’s fucked the Conservative master plan up, wonder what there next move will be.
Not from the UK, but I hoped Rwanda’s reply would be zero.
That won’t stop the tories and i don’t want any more here given we can’t cope with our own bullshit issues but we also shouldn’t be sending them there.
Like fuck me France, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and the rest of Europe is just across the channel.
Does that £120m include costs on the UK side? Policing, detention, processing and flight? I would hope is does, otherwise it makes even more of a collosal cockup.
So they took a huge amount of money and ignored the deal lmao.
Lol people are surprised that BoJo and his Tory cronies sold you out and conned you lol 😂 let’s wait some months and you will again cry when the news brakes that 100 million pound of that went to a Tory donor postbox company for consulting services
So much for that plan.
Why is this not a bigger scandal? £120 Million to deport just 200 Channel migrants?
Channel crossings are up to 1,000 PER DAY so as a measure to reduce illegal immigration this is already a colossal failure.
Where is all that money going, really? Priti Patel’s offshore accounts? Building a new palace for Rwanda’s dictator?
Even for the Tories this is a new level of corruption and/or stupidity.
25 comments
All that hot air.
600k per migrant. Bargain /s
The Rwandan government has defended the controversial asylum agreement but said it only has the capacity to hold 200 migrants currently.
The African nation had originally agreed to take up to 1,000 migrants from the UK in a trial deal worth £120million.
The government has now said one hotel, Hope Hostel in Kigali, is prepared to receive migrants but has a maximum capacity of 200 people.
Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the Rwandan government said: “We’re looking into infrastructure development, we have identified other accommodation developments.”
Ms Makolo did add, however, that the government has the ability to “scale up very quickly”, in order to increase the numbers it can receive.
She also condemned critics and those who implied that Africa is “full of disease and no opportunities”.
“We are still seen as a problematic place, a place of problems. This is not something that we want.
“Africa is also a source of solutions. This is an innovative solution to a global problem,” Ms Makolo said.
“The UNHCR has always praised Rwanda’s open-door policy.
“In the last couple of years, both the head of the UNHCR and his deputy have visited Rwanda, and they have been very effusive about what a welcoming country Rwanda is.
Accommodation seems like the least challenging problem to solve in getting this plan up and running, months / years of legal battles first
Gee you wouldn’t think they had just turfed a load of people out of that very same hostel
(who coincidently, are the very people it was built for following the genocide)
Well over half a million each then. Why not offer them 50k stuffed in a case to apply for residency in France and save 90% of the cost?
Hang on, we’re paying Rwanda £120 Million to host 200 immigrants in a hotel?
Does Priti want to get rid of them THAT much?
200 out of 15000 channel crossings this year alone.
The Rwanda policy doesnt work.
Shit deal for the UK (and morally repugnant), but fair play to Rwanda honestly. If you’re presented with an opportunity to rip off idiot Tories, why wouldn’t you take it?
Were paying them £120mil to take 1,000 refugees? W H A T
It’s always been a PR gimmick lol
They’ve taken the money and pulled a bait and switch.
£120 million to remove 200 immigrants. This policy brought you by the party of ‘fiscal responsibility’.
A great advertising campaign for Patel’s policy on immigrants though, one I am sure she will try to continue under the new leader. It was all about sending a message to voters and migrants alike about the consequences of what will happen to those who try to enter the UK via the Channel. Her next idea will be in a similar vain to this.
Wait, deals have to be agreed by both parties and not dictated by one side? Why were the Tories not informed of this (10 years ago)!
We’re paying them 120,000 per migrant? Why not just give the migrants some money to not come here if we’re that bothered—-fuck give it to the people smugglers to not smuggle them
It’s like the African country who rather than spent money on anti poaching police just gave the money to the poachers…which meant they didn’t have to poach
this is stupid.
time to get hard on immigrants entering illegally and for anyone that claims i have an issue with immigrants……no only the illegal ones playing on the hearts of people claiming to be something they aren’t.
Good, now that’s fucked the Conservative master plan up, wonder what there next move will be.
Not from the UK, but I hoped Rwanda’s reply would be zero.
That won’t stop the tories and i don’t want any more here given we can’t cope with our own bullshit issues but we also shouldn’t be sending them there.
Like fuck me France, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and the rest of Europe is just across the channel.
Does that £120m include costs on the UK side? Policing, detention, processing and flight? I would hope is does, otherwise it makes even more of a collosal cockup.
So they took a huge amount of money and ignored the deal lmao.
Lol people are surprised that BoJo and his Tory cronies sold you out and conned you lol 😂 let’s wait some months and you will again cry when the news brakes that 100 million pound of that went to a Tory donor postbox company for consulting services
So much for that plan.
Why is this not a bigger scandal? £120 Million to deport just 200 Channel migrants?
Channel crossings are up to 1,000 PER DAY so as a measure to reduce illegal immigration this is already a colossal failure.
Where is all that money going, really? Priti Patel’s offshore accounts? Building a new palace for Rwanda’s dictator?
Even for the Tories this is a new level of corruption and/or stupidity.