'360,000 moved through Beitbridge'

The Border Management Authority (BMA) says it has recorded more than 300,000 people who came in and out of SA through the Beitbridge border post in Musina, Limpopo, since December 10.

Spokesperson Mmemme Mogotsi said since New Year's Day, thousands more have been streaming back into the country. On Friday, the number of people who returned back into that country through Beitbridge sat on 9,500, BMA said. 

“This is the return leg, [but] we have 365,000 [travellers] in terms of the overall processing of people coming in and out of the Beitbridge port of entry from December 10 until the 4th of January.

“Last year for the same period of December 10 to January 4, we recorded movements...  arrivals and departures of over 416,000 [at Beitbridge]," she said.

According to Mogotsi, Beitbridge is the busiest port during the festive season compared to other ports of entry in the country.

“Previously, Lebombo used to lead in terms of people who are processed but due to threats of disruptions of services [due to the unrest in Mozambique], it has led to reduced numbers.

Mogotsi also said BMA needed R4,5bn to “protect" the border ports. She said they also needed 11,000 staff to fully support its operations.

“It has been a challenge [to day-to day work] but we are working with what we have," she said.

Last year, she said, the BMA  used drones borrowed from the department of agriculture to monitor movements at five of the country's border posts.

“We are able to detect illegal movements and send our border guards to go and react and intercept numbers of people using the vulnerable segments [of the border] to come through into SA," she said.

“We need funding to be able to monitor and do proper surveillance and also have systems to profile (travellers). We need advanced technology to be able to do more."

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