DA shocked by amount of people illegally crossing into SA
A group of DA officials visited the Lebombo Border Post on January 10 to investigate rumours of corruption, challenges regarding law enforcement and the numerous holes in the border fence.
KOMATIPOORT – The holes in the border fence and lack of resources for adequate law enforcement seem to be steadily gaining the attention of the right officials.
Ken Robertson, the DA’s shadow deputy minister of rural development and land reform, went on an oversight inspection to the border post on Thursday, accompanied by several of his colleagues.
The minister of home affairs, Dr Siyabonga Cwele visited the border post and home affairs front offices in White River and Mbombela last Wednesday to inspect the facilities and monitor service delivery.
On December 3, the minister of public service and administration, Ayanda Dlodlo and MEC Pat Shongwe conducted a border visit and imbizo in KaMaqhekeza. They interacted with the community and promised to address some of the issues relating to border security and service delivery.
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During the DA’s visit to the border post, Robertson said they had received information from migrants that it costs them R150 to be escorted into South Africa from Mozambique, without documentation, by syndicates.
While surveying the holes in the border fence near the Lebombo Border Post, Robertson saw at least 30 people illegally crossing into the country in a 20-minute period.
During a border patrol with SANDF members stationed in the area on November 15, journalists were told that between September and November a total of 289 people had been arrested for illegally crossing the border.
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The soldiers also stated that due to lack of resources and the fence’s deteriorating condition, many people manage to slip their attention.
In a press release on Sunday, Jacques Julius, the DA spokesman on immigration stated that he had spent the last six months visiting border posts across the country. He said that the biggest issues they found were illegal cross-border trading, alleged social grant fraud, poor military patrolling and hijacking syndicates.
“We need to secure our borders in order to address these issues as well as the prevalence of human trafficking, the illicit flow of drugs into our country and crime syndicates operating across our borders,” he said.
Julius explained that the DA is working on a plan to secure the borders and control immigration once they come to power.
During the border visit, Robertson stated that the DA wasn’t planning on closing the borders, but ensuring that immigrants enter the country legally and contribute to the economy.
They also want to review the number and size of border posts and their management to increase the legal points of entry and exit, and train and equip immigration officials and police to ensure a continuous decline in cross-border crimes.
