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“Border guards” will be part of the Border Management Authority â€" Minister

Source: DefenceWeb, 15/05/2017


Addressing the National Assembly, Home Affairs Minister Professor
Hlengiwe Mkhize gave another indication the proposed Border Management
Authority (BMA) will be active only at recognised ports of entry
leaving by far the bulk of border protection to the military.

She hinted at, but gave no further details of, an apparently new
position, that of “border guard”. She also told MPs there was concern
about the nature of powers to be given to these border guards to
conduct routine searches but did not indicate from where they would be
drawn or whether they would be specially recruited.

“The BMA will play an important role in supporting the creation of an
inclusive and growing economy at the frontline of our country’s
borders by facilitating the legitimate movement of people and goods in
line with our socio-economic objectives. We will focus on building the
right set of skills for Border Guard officials and on establishing
modern and secure infrastructure, information and communication
technology platforms that meet the universal standards based on the
rule of law,” she told MPs.

According to Mkhize, who inherited the BMA legislation from Malusi
Gigaba, now Minister of Finance, two of the imperatives underpinning
the BMA Bill are “a new policy paradigm of integrated border
management” and a determination to facilitate “the legal and secure
movement of people and goods across our borders”.

As far as challenges facing the still-to-be finalised government
agency, she pointed out one being “government departments and state
agencies operating in a fragmented and incoherent manner with
conflicting policy positions, non-aligned implementation and varied
interpretation of the border management regulatory regime”.

The consequences of inefficient and ineffective border manager at
South Africa’s 72 ports of entry leads to travellers and traders
having to put up with poor service and “creates a breeding ground for
corruption”.

The SA National Defence Force (SANDF), mainly through deployments of
SA Army and SA Army Reserve Force units, assisted by elements of the
SA Air Force (SAAF) and the skills of the SA Army Specialised Infantry
Capability (SASIC) unit, does the necessary patrolling of the
country’s landward borders, stopping illegal immigrants and
contraband. There are currently 15 companies deployed at any one time
as part of Operation Corona, the border protection tasking that sees
soldiers patrolling South Africa’s landward borders with Botswana,
Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula visited SANDF and community
members at Mbuzini on the border with Mozambique in on May 3 to find
out what challenges they are facing. She was told that over the last
two months, soldiers assisted by police had arrested 206 undocumented
immigrants who illegally crossed the border from Mozambique and
Swaziland and seized contraband goods, dagga and stolen vehicles worth
R10 million.

Over the weekend Community safety, security and liaison MEC Pat
Ngomane launched a border security programme that is aimed at
eliminating cross border car theft. The launch, held at Komatipoort,
included stakeholders the SAPS, SANDF, Nkomazi local municipality and
Tracker.

In the 2016-17 financial year, about 142 stolen vehicles were
recovered while trying to cross the border to Mozambique. Four stolen
cars were recovered in the last week on the border between South
Africa and Mozambique.


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