Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi says his department is in the process of finalising its One-Stop Border Policy (OSBP) and upgrades to six of the country’s border posts.
The policy aims to harmonise the movement of people and goods between South Africa’s land ports of entry and its neighbouring countries, as well as address congestion that results in delays.
To address these issues, the government will establish a new Border Management Authority (BMA) which will be at the forefront of fighting illicit and unauthorised movement at the country’s borders. The BMA will be established as a national public entity and will report to the minister of Home Affairs.
Motsoaledi said his department is currently taking the policy through the requisite parliamentary process, with the aim of presenting it to cabinet for approval later in March.
He added that his department has also started a process of developing a separate OSBP Bill that will go through the legislative process led by Parliament.
New border posts
Motsoaledi said the Department of Home Affairs is also in the process of redeveloping six of South Africa’s ports of entry, as part of a modernisation effort to turn them into ‘world-class’ one-stop border posts.
The list of border posts that will be upgraded include:
- Beitbridge (Zimbabwe);
- Lebombo (Mozambique);
- Oshoek (Eswatini);
- Kopfontein (Botswana);
- Maseru Bridge (Lesotho);
- Ficksburg (Lesotho).
Once upgraded, it is expected that goods and people will move through these six busiest land ports at a faster pace and in a more effective and efficient manner.
This will have specific and direct benefits for traders, freight carriers and all those transporting goods since the intention is that all movement through these ports will be processed once and jointly by South Africa and the relevant neighbouring country.
Motsoaledi said that the project is currently in the tender phase and his team has concluded the drafting of the Request for Proposals (RFP).
“The RFP will undergo the approval process in the Department of Home Affairs after which it will be submitted to the National Treasury for regulatory approval. On obtaining the regulatory approval from the National Treasury, the RFP will be ready to be issued to the market in March 2022 subject to regulatory approvals.”
He added that some privately-owned land parcels needed for the project would have to be acquired for the project to go ahead.
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