Improving operational efficiency or retaining personnel are probably the questions at the centre of a reportedly scheduled meeting this week between the men at the helm of two of South Africa’s three government security services.
In one corner, to use a boxing analogy, is the Border Management Authority (BMA) represented by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber with Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in the other. The referee, to continue in pugilistic style, is Adrian Roos. As the Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesman on Home Affairs, with border control a major portfolio component for him, he told defenceWeb relevant SA Police Service (SAPS) functions have not yet been transferred to the BMA, four months short of two years since its formal launch in October 2023.
The bilateral meeting, according to him, will “iron out issues” regarding the transfer of SAPS border police functions to Commissioner Mike Masiapato’s BMA. “This is welcome but long overdue” for the “under-resourced” BMA Roos said, noting the fledgling BMA has 673 border law enforcement officers on its personnel strength. Against this, 4 354 police officers are assigned to border protection duties.
Department of Home Affairs (DHA) personnel dealing with customs, emigration and immigration, Department of Health port health functionaries, Department of Agriculture inspectors and environmental bio-security officers from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) have transferred staff, assets and budgets to BMA.
“There is yet no indication when the SAPS border police unit, responsible for implementing SAPS Act Section 13(6) functions, now in Section 5 of the BMA Act, will move,” he said adding it is a “disparity” that needs urgency.
As far as can be ascertained, BMA border guards operate in a 10 km area, not necessary radius, from official points of entry such as Beitbridge, Lebombo and Maseru Bridge among others. Against this, the SA Army border protection deployment sees 15 companies, mainly from infantry units, deployed along the country’s four thousand eight hundred plus kilometres of land border with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Roos maintains since Schreiber was named as government of national unity (GNU) home affairs minister a year ago the BMA increased the number of undocumented people intercepted during the 2024 year-end period by 215% when compared to 2023. Illegal crossings over this year’s Easter break were 63% up on the same period last year proving the value of, among others unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using artificial intelligence, body cameras and “smart monitoring equipment”.
“Technology alone cannot properly tackle illegal immigration,” he said in direct reference to the apparent unwillingness of SAPS to move personnel to the BMA.