By Daanyaal Matthews

The Border Management Authority, also known as the BMA, has reported that they have prevented over 300,000 individuals from entering the country’s borders illegally since its inception one year ago.

According to Mmemme Mogotsi, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Communication and Marketing at the Border Management Authority SA (BMA), the rationale behind stopping individuals from entering the Republic was down to numerous reasons, ranging from not possessing relevant documents, possessing fraudulent documents, or simply through illegal entry.  Mogotsi also reiterates that there is a wide array of determining factors prior to an individual entering the nation, stating:

“Our immigration act is very clear; if you are travelling from a yellow fever endemic country, we still require you to produce a certificate for us. We’ve published on our various websites, in the Home Affairs website, and on the BMA website, and we embark on continuous communication to ensure that individuals abide by the laws as well.”

The BMA has 71 points of entry to monitor, previously 72; however, the authority closed one point of entry in Botswana, with personnel of over 2200 handling the entry of individuals into the Republic with duties extending to the seizing of goods that are not in compliance. Momotsi argues that the toll on the authority is great and requires further investment from the government to ensure the authority’s continued success.

“We are enforcing and have requested from the government that we need more deployment on the ground. At this point, we have 400 border guards that will be graduating from college on May 16^th, and we will have them placed at the various borders. However, there are various dynamics as some borders are bigger than others, so in terms of management, we intensify deployment where more border guards are required,” said Momotsi.

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