The newly unveiled Border Management Authority (BMA) is expected to ease congestion and other perennial challenges at South African borders, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.
He said that when he launched the border agency in Musina, he gave it fully-fledged responsibilities to manage the country’s points of entry.
The BMA is now the third armed service in South Africa after the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).
It is headed by a commissioner who has two deputies.
It is mandated to perform border management functions within ports of entry as well as in its law enforcement areas.
At the launch, Ramaphosa emphasised that the authority would be responsible for activities at points of entry, while leaving the safeguarding of the long SA borderline to the SANDF (the army).
He explained that the border agency was formed after reports of several challenges at the country’s point of entry.
“Lack of coordination and inadequate information-sharing between various management and enforcement authorities have rendered our borders vulnerable.
“The Border Management Authority will provide a sustainable solution to the structural challenges of border security, control, and coordination.
“It will be a new model of integration of functions, roles, and responsibilities in the broader law enforcement environment.
“The Border Management Authority is expected to tackle the challenges of congestion, procedural delays, long transit times, lack of predictability, and high logistics costs,” Ramaphosa said.
As it slowly takes shape since July, when its first troops were unveiled, Ramaphosa said the Border Management Authority will be redeveloping six ports of entry as one-stop-border posts.
This approach, he said, will improve efficiency at land border crossings by combining the stops required for processing exit and entry formalities.
“In July, we saw the deployment of the first officers of the border guard of the Border Management Authority at vulnerable segments of the borderline, including the informal community crossing points.
“While the border guard will be conducting border law enforcement functions, including access control, the South African National Defence Force remains responsible for border protection and safeguarding.
“The border guard will interface with the nearest police station with regards to the occurrence of a crime at a port of entry,” he said.
He added that the border guard will interface with the nearest police station with regards to the occurrence of a crime at a port of entry.
Before launching the agency, Ramaphosa concluded a joint tour of the Beitbridge point of entry with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The Beitbridge border is a key trade route for South Africa, with some of its neighbours in the north and some countries in the deeper part of the SADC region.
He said they agreed that the establishment of the Border Management Authority would be an important tool for the development of the region.
“It will form part of integrating border management activities in the SADC region as we implement the African Continental Free Trade Area.
"We will be able to work towards eradicating various forms of red tape that are hindering trade, investment, and the movement of persons,” he said.
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