Cape Town – Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has announced plans to enhance the country’s border posts to improve safety, efficiency, and trade facilitation while curbing illicit activities.
Motsoaledi said that the government aims to modernise its ports of entry with advanced infrastructure and technology to align with global border management best practices.
The primary goal is to ease the movement of law-abiding individuals and businesses in and out of South Africa while cracking down on illegal activities, he said while addressing media in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“The South African government is committed to putting in the latest infrastructure and relevant technology in its efforts to modernise and upgrade our ports to be on par with the current global best practices on border management,” Motsoaledi said.
He added: “It has taken a while for us to get to this point. I would like to commend my team consisting of officials from the Border Management Authority, the Department of Home Affairs, The Presidency’s Infrastructure SA, National Treasury, SARS, the DBSA’s Infrastructure Fund, and the transactional advisors, Bowmans and Ernst & Young, for their hard work in getting us to this point.”
“When you visit our land ports of Entry between South Africa and our SADC Neighbour’s the South African side of the border looks like an informal settlement while the other side looks like Sandton” @HomeAffairsSA Aaron Motsoaledi pic.twitter.com/JaJGtTeN9z
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) September 6, 2023
Motsoaledi acknowledged the historical design of border posts, primarily focused on security during apartheid, which hindered regional and international trade.
With the post-apartheid increase in cross-border movement and trade volume, congestion at land ports has become a significant issue, affecting trade instead of supporting it, he said.
Notably, the Lebombo Border Post with Mozambique has experienced severe truck congestion due to changes in export routes by mining companies.
To address these challenges and boost continental trade, South Africa plans to redevelop six of its busiest land ports of entry: Beitbridge (Zimbabwe), Lebombo (Mozambique), Maseru Bridge (Lesotho), Ficksburg (Lesotho), Kopfontein (Botswana), and Oshoek (Eswatini).
This redevelopment aims to streamline cross-border management, enhance administrative processes, promote regional economic integration, and support the African Continental Free Trade Area, the minister said.
Additionally, it seeks to improve revenue collection, combat illegal movements of goods and financial flows, protect local industries, and manage migration effectively.
The redevelopment project will be executed in phases, with an expected job creation impact of around 38 000 jobs in the vicinity of the designated ports of entry.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
