The Border Management Authority (BMA) will place more employees at some of the busiest ports of entry to assist with service delivery and provide technical support to regular employees.
Some ports of entry will have their operating hours extended, according to BMA commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato.
Masiapato was speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday.
As part of its festive season crime prevention strategy, the BMA has held interjurisdictional talks with neighbouring nations Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini, and Botswana to coordinate work modalities and expedite border procedures.Â
According to Masiapato, this will cover border operations from December through January 2025 for the departure leg as well as the return leg.
According to him, they decided to change the operating hours at a few important ports that do not run around the clock during the planning stage.Â
Masiapato said that Leon Schreiber, the Home Affairs Minister, had approved a request to extend operating hours at specific ports.
Human trafficking and smuggling
Masiapato claims that the collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs will help to curtail illicit activities like human trafficking and smuggling.
“As part of this initiative, the Border Management Authority is committed to ensuring that our ports of entry are not used for violent crimes, smuggling, human trafficking, or unlawful activities that target vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.
“To strengthen our efforts, we have reinforced our partnership with the Department of Social Development,” he said.
The SA Police Service, the Home Affairs anti-corruption unit, and the guards of the new BMA allegedly prevented the trafficking of 443 children under the age of eight into South Africa following a coordinated sting operation in December 2023.
Some experts speculated that authorities might have stopped a “smuggling” operation in which Zimbabwean parents paid to have their children sent to South Africa for the holidays.
