The Home Affairs Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi will on Thursday launch the Border Management Authority (BMA) programme at the Beit-Bridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Motsoaledi will unveil the first group of border guards during a ceremony near Musina in Limpopo. The guards underwent physical and fitness assessments before their deployment.
The department says the guards will be strategically deployed along some segments of the border.
The Border Management Authority Act of 2020 initiative aims to facilitate legal cross-border movement and curb criminality around the border.
Motsoaledi will officially welcome the cohort of 200 qualified guards.
The BMA also wants to promote optimal cross-border trade. It will become fully established in April 2023.
The initiative is expected to play a key role towards tackling issues of border security.
The border faces a stream of problems including trucking congestion during peak seasons and illegal cross-border movement, and smuggling.
VIDEO: In April, Motsoaledi monitored the processing of travellers at the Beitbridge border post:
Scopa’s inspection in loco
In 2020, members of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Home Affairs, conducted an inspection in loco at the controversial R37 million Beit Bridge border post fence, outside Musina, in Limpopo.
The parliamentarians were led and guided by members of the Special Investigative Unit and the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee.
The 40km stretch of the fence is damaged and full of holes where illegal foreigners pass when they cross. It is also of a poor standard; not meant border fencing.
