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Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
The South African Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has started assessing the Border Management Authority’s state of preparedness at selected ports of entry, including Beitbridge, ahead of the festive season.
The Beitbridge Border Post handles an estimated seven million travellers annually, mostly from Zimbabwe, DRC, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Botswana and Tanzania.
The border handles at least 15 000 travellers, 2 000 private cars, 1 000 commercial trucks and 120 buses daily but triples that volume of traffic during the festive season.
In a statement on Tuesday, South Africa’s portfolio committee chairperson (Home Affairs), Mr Chabane said they are impressed with BMA’s work plan that is anchored on collaboration, the use of technology and increased visibility to deal with the movement of people and goods during the festive season.
“The plans laid out are reassuring that the BMA and other stakeholders are ready for the seamless movement of people and goods into and out of the country,” said Mr Chabane.
BMA will also be operating drones to monitor congestion and the illegal movement of people across the border.
The Department of Immigration on the Zimbabwean side of the border post has installed a new online border management system that can clear travellers faster.
Online Reporter