As part of the government’s programme to engage stakeholders within the security cluster and to make sure that the country’s ports of entries are safe at all times, two ministers and a deputy minister visited Beit Bridge port of entry last Thursday.

The Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Gigaba, the Minister of State Security, Mr David Mahlobo, and his deputy, Ms Ellen Molekane, were accompanied by the mayor of Musina, Cllr Mihloti Ramoyada, during the event.

With high volumes of travellers expected during this month of December, the visit also formed part of the assessment of the state of readiness for the Beit Bridge border post during the festive season.

After a walk-about around the border post, the delegation conducted a search of vehicles and also interacted with travellers who were crossing the border.

Gigaba acknowledged that vehicle inspections and the documentation processing took more time than expected. He admitted that there is a shortage of infrastructure and personnel to deal with high volumes of vehicles and travellers crossing through the border daily. He promised during the media briefing that his department, together with other departments, would look into the problem as a matter of urgency.

He also highlighted the possible contingency plans to be put in place at the border post, following their planned meeting in a few days’ time. “Some of the ways to deal with the challenge at hand will be to increase the working hours. We will also have to consider increasing our personnel here for the festive season in order to deal with the high traffic flow and the volumes of people. I am certain that things are going to work according to our plans,” Gigaba said.

Mahlobo spoke at length about security matters around the border. "We are aware that some people, including our officials, might be tempted to abuse the security systems in place during this time of the year. Anyone found guilty of violating the law in any way on our border will be charged harshly to set the tone for others. With regard to our personnel, we intend to eliminate possibilities of corruption by deploying them at different ports of entry on a rotational basis.”  

Ramoyada welcomed the ministers’ visits and their plans to make Beit Bridge border post a better place for commuters and vehicle operators during the festive season. “I am happy to see our ministers leading by example. Together we can make Beit Bridge the best port of entry in South Africa. With a huge number of vehicles and approximately 19 000 people crossing our border every day, we should be happy that this boosts our economy. This has so many advantages to us as people of Musina and South African at large.”