Staff shortages strain border control amid kilometre-long festive queues at ports of entry

The Border Management Authority (BMA) says it is struggling to cope with a sharp surge in festive season travel, with more than six million travellers expected to pass through South Africa’s ports of entry.

At the Lebombo border post with Mozambique alone, over 50,000 people crossed in just two days, resulting in kilometre-long queues, as holidaymakers and freight traffic compete for limited processing capacity.

BMA Commissioner Mike Masiapato admits the authority is operating at a quarter of its intended staffing levels, with only 2,600 officers in place instead of the planned 11,000.

"It is common knowledge that the BMA is operating at 25% capacity, and that reality is not just a national posture... it is a reality on the ground in various ports.

"That is why the biggest pressure during the exit leg, in this instance, is on immigration officers because they have to be processing these numbers of people throughout."

He says the combination of pre-Covid travel volumes, staff shortages, and constrained infrastructure has overwhelmed land borders, particularly Lebombo and Beitbridge.

While government has introduced stop-gap measures such as co-locating South African and Mozambican border officials to speed up freight movement, Masiapato warns that long-term improvement depends on increased funding.

"You can only augment human resources through additional financial resources, and I think that one has seen well-ventilated presentations made across the ecosystem.

"We are therefore hopeful that when the budget gets announced, probably there will be something. But if not, then the status quo will remain."

To listen to Mike Masiapato in conversation with 702's Ray White, click the audio below: