SA-eSwatini border crossing free-for-all
Hundreds of foreigners from eSwatini enter Nkomazi illegally on a daily basis, placing great financial strain on the municipality.
The border between eSwatini (previously Swaziland) and the Magudu Village in Nkomazi is unguarded and has developed an illicit economy of its own.
“Taxi ranks on both sides of the border formed to transport these people,” said the spokesperson for Nkomazi Local Municipality (NLM), Cyril Ripinga.
“The influx of illegal foreigners in Nkomazi is causing severe financial issues for the municipality, because we are forced by law to service them when they travel to Nkomazi, even though they do not pay any taxes.” NLM receives funding from National Treasury to service its residents.
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“Treasury allocates budget based on numbers indicated on Stats SA, the national government’s statistics website,” Ripinga said. “If you look on the website, it states there are currently around 393 000 people in Nkomazi. However, due to the infl ux of undocumented foreigners, the reality is there are well over a million people currently living in Nkomazi.”
According to Ripinga, the ease of this illegal crossing at Magudu has led to a flood of pregnant mothers from eSwatini crossing into South Africa right before delivering their babies, in order for their children to have South African citizenship.
“Because of the child’s South African status, these mothers will then cross over the border to claim grants for their children and then cross back into eSwatini. They then repeat this every month.”
Children also cross the border to go to school in South Africa.
“You can see schoolchildren crossing over to go to school, and then they hop over to go back home every day,” Ripinga added. “Peak hours at this crossing are 07:00 and 16:00.”
The spokesperson for the national Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Siyabulela Qoza, the issue of border security is the jurisdiction of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
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“The DHA is responsible for the ports of entry like Lebombo, Jeppe’s Reef and Mananga, but not for the security of the border.
That would be the SANDF.” “SANDF soldiers used to camp out in this area after NLM complained about the illegal foreigners, but they are not there anymore,” Ripinga added. At the time of going to press, the SANDF could not be reached for comment.
This journalist visited the illegal crossing, along with NLM representatives, including Cyril Ripinga. In the 20 minutes spent at the crossing, a total of six full taxis had transported people from Magudu to the illegal crossing and back again. Around 25 illegal crossings were counted, including four schoolchildren in their uniforms heading back home to eSwatini after their school day in Nkomazi. Women transported empty wheelbarrows from eSwatini and returned from Magudu with full ones. The most popular food product transported over the fence was mealie meal.
