Image: Emmanuel Croset/AFPSource: Getty ImagesSOUTH AFRICA — The Department of Home Affairs has spent R292 million on deportation operations this financial year, nearly five times the R60 million originally set aside for the exercise, Director-General Tommy Makhode told Parliament's portfolio committee on Tuesday. Transport costs formed the biggest portion of the expenditure, with Home Affairs reimbursing the Cape Town and eThekwini municipalities for buses used during operations. The Department of Public Works separately spent R48 million constructing a temporary facility in Musina capable of accommodating up to 20,000 people at a time. Cabinet and foreign governments brought into spending rowHome Affairs has submitted a memorandum to Cabinet's budget committee to account for the excess spending. On the international front, the South African government has formally approached the governments of Malawi, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, requesting reimbursement for deportation costs incurred for their respective citizens.