BMA prevented 215% more illegal border crossings in 2024/25 – Home Affairs

BMA

Cape Town — The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and the Border Management Authority (BMA) have revealed the facts and figures behind the number of illegal entry attempts into South Africa.

In a statement, Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said the BMA had shown vast improvements in its operations of South Africa’s ports-of-entry for the 2024/2025 festive season, which presented the biggest test of the BMA’s ability to handle the management of all border crossings.

He said that previous years showed a lack of coordination and an inability to adjust to changing circumstances but the BMA has transformed itself to be a more organised unit with a more integrated approach to border management, including new technologies such as drones and body cameras.

“It is now time for the BMA to permanently acquire these capabilities, as we accelerate our work to digitalise South Africa’s port environment, including by automating all entry and exit procedures,” he said.

Schreiber revealed that the BMA had increased its successful number of illegal border preventions by a whopping 215%. In 2023.24, 15 924 people were caught illegally, while that figure rose to 50 312 for 2024/25.

A further 6 159 were caught for overstaying, while 1 923 were refused entry over fraudulent documents or non-compliance. BMA and SAPS officials enforced 322 arrests and seized illegal goods valued at R690 million.

The use of drones at just five ports of entry on a pilot basis made an immediate and visible impact.

“The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development generously assisted with the deployment of drones at Beitbridge, Maseru Bridge, Lebombo, Kopfontein and Oshoek. 42 pilots were assigned and effectively operated those drones across the five ports of entry,” he said.

The use of drones led to real-life monitoring of border management and a better response to attempted illegal crossings.

“The use of these drones on a pilot basis at just five ports led to the detection of 2 188 additional people who attempted to illegally enter our country. That is 2 188 people who would be walking among us illegally now if it were not for the use of this technology. Furthermore, the drones led to 2 326 breaches in the border fence being identified and sealed,” Schreiber said.

He revealed that the BMA managed to move more than 5 million travellers during the 2024/25 festive season, an increase of more than 51 000 in the previous year.

“This included the processing of 395 189 private vehicles, 12 974 mini-bus taxis, 6 071 buses, and 58 938 trucks for import and export. Additionally, 9 491 aircraft and 660 vessels were processed,” he said.

The movements were efficient as 66% of imports and 74% of exports were cleared in 30 minutes. The top 10 border posts, which include Beitbridge, Lebombo and OR Tambo International Airport, accounted for 81% of all processed movements.

Schreiber praised the BMA and its commissioner, Michael Masiapato, for their outstanding work but said there is still a lot of work that remains to be done.

As we reflect on this progress, we remind ourselves that reform is a journey, not an event. The 2024/2025 festive season demonstrates that – while we still have a long way to go to reach our ultimate destination of seamless and secure border management – we are travelling at an ever-increasing speed in the right direction,” he said.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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