SA to overhaul 6 key border entry points with cutting-edge tech

Minister of home affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has embarked on an ambitious journey to turn the country’s six border entry points from shabby “informal settlements” into efficient world class “Sandton-looking” facilities.

The minister is ready to introduce cutting-edge technology to the six busiest land ports of entry, hoping to ease traffic congestion, smooth the processing of immigration services and stop the trafficking of illicit goods, drugs and humans.

But central to the project was to facilitate international trade in line with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The state-of-the-art project, to be undertaken on the basis of private-public partnership, is expected to install the latest technologies to detect all illegally transported goods as well as people and drugs.

According to Motsoaledi, soon the traffic congestion on the country’s border “would be history”.

He cited regular traffic jams by goods trucks that line up for hours at the Lebombo port of entry, which was narrow and unable to cope.

Lebombo, on N4 route corridor, became congested after the mining industry from North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga opted to use the Maputo port instead of Richards Bay for their exports.

The minister hopes the new system would make a huge difference in all the earmarked border posts, including the notorious Beitbridge between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

At least 38 000 jobs will be created in the massive project during the construction phase. The ports of entry are Beit Bridge Lebombo, Maseru Bridge to Lesotho, Ficksburg to Lesotho, Kopfontein to Botswana and Oshoek to Eswatini.

Last year, the minister introduced border guards who patrolled the border to stop the movement of undocumented immigrants shortly after he appointed the Border Management Authority headed by Dr Mike Masiapata.

Motsoaledi said: “The South African government is committed to put the latest infrastructure and relevant technology in its effort to modernise and upgrade our ports to be on par with the current global best practices on border management.

“To this end, the main objective is to make it easier for the law-abiding people and companies to easily enter and exit South Africa through our borders while the illicit movement of persons and goods is nipped in the bud.”

The minister acknowledged what many travellers always mentioned that South African sides of the border gates are shabby compared to that of other Southern African Development Community countries, which are modern.

Motsoaledi confirmed that indeed the South African facilities “look like informal settlements while the other side looks like Sandton”.

Of the 72 ports of entry in South Africa, 53 are land borders, 11 international airports and eight seaports. All these are now managed by the Border Management Authority.

“Of the 53 land ports of entry, we have now earmarked six of our largest and busiest, by traffic volume, for re-development in order to address the congestion.

“The outcome of the redevelopment of these Ports of Entry will be used as a blueprint in the long-term for all other South Africa’s land ports of entry.”