South African Border Management Authority Commissioner Mike Masiabato revealed on Sunday that he had intercepted five children at the Beitbridge port of entry.
They handed it over to colleagues from the Department of Social Development who activated social workers in Musina.
“They later liaised with their Zimbabwean counterparts and repatriated the children to Zimbabwe to reconcile with their families. Another incident involving a child occurred at the port of entry at Grobler’s Bridge as a woman was trying to exit from South Africa to the DRC via Botswana.
“The supposed ‘mother’ did not have a passport but was carrying an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) issued by the DRC Embassy and the child was completely undocumented. They were handed over to colleagues from the Department of Social Development who processed them and transported them to a safe location in Limpopo.” .
South Africa’s borders were more crowded this year than last year.
The authority said it facilitated 1,136,250 passengers through 71 ports of entry in 10 days. In the same period last year, 913,859 passengers were processed – meaning there are more than 222,000 additional passengers this year.
Over a 10-day period over Easter, nearly 4,000 people were intercepted as they attempted to enter the country illegally.
Masciabato said, in a press conference, that 2,403 of those intercepted had no documents at all. Another 1,019 people were refused entry as undesirable, and 419 people were found to be not allowed into the country for various reasons.
“The majority of detainees without documents were intercepted at vulnerable parts of the border line. They were processed, declared undesirable for five years, and deported. Masiabato said most of the inadmissible individuals were found with invalid passports, forged visas or failed to submit relevant documents such as valid yellow fever certificates, especially those traveling from yellow fever endemic countries.
“Gradually, since the first deployment of the Border Guard, the Authority has been able to intercept and stop more than 281,000 individuals who attempted to enter South Africa illegally.”
Border security has been beefed up during this period, with Masciapato saying 400 junior border guards have been deployed at some land ports “to assist in the crucial role of clearing the border environment and ensuring the uninterrupted facilitation of the lawful movement of people and goods.” Through the ports.
On a more positive note, the authority said that during the Easter period it observed a decrease in the number of unregistered or unaccompanied minors arriving at ports of entry in South Africa. Sweetan
