Good morning to everyone present — our Deputy Commissioners, partners from both the public and private sectors, members of the border management community, the media, and all distinguished guests.

As the Border Management Authority (BMA), we are once again rolling out our Easter Festive Season Plan. This plan is designed to ensure the safe, secure, and smooth movement of people and goods across South Africa’s 71 ports of entry during the busy Easter period.

Easter is one of the busiest travel seasons in the country, and our goal is to strike the right balance between strong border enforcement and enabling legitimate travel, tourism, and trade.

This plan is backed by strong collaboration across government and security structures, including the Inter-ministerial Consultative Committee on Border Management, the Border Technical Committee, Natjoints, Provjoints, and other key partners in the border management system.

How the Plan Works

The Easter operational plan is divided into four phases:

Planning, Execution, Demobilisation, and Sustenance.

Planning Phase

Our planning phase began toward the end of the last festive season, running from early February 2026 and concluding on 30 March 2026.

Despite limited resources, we focused on strengthening partnerships to boost our capacity.

Key support includes:

The Western Cape Government, which has deployed about 50 officials to assist as Immigration Officers at Cape Town International Airport.

The Gauteng Provincial Government, which has provided 80 officers at OR Tambo International Airport.

To better protect vulnerable travellers, especially minors and victims of trafficking, we partnered with the Department of Social Development, which has deployed social workers to ports of entry across provinces.

We also continue working closely with the Department of Tourism, which has sent over 160 tourism safety officers to help manage traveller movement and improve safety within ports.

On infrastructure, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is supporting operations by providing temporary lighting, sanitation facilities, barricades, and water tankers to improve conditions at ports and along transit routes.

Improving Road and Corridor Safety

Traffic authorities at national, provincial, and local levels will step up enforcement to ensure road safety and compliance during this high-traffic period.

Public and Private Sector Partnerships

Beyond government collaboration, we’ve strengthened partnerships with private sector players such as DCD Protected Mobility, Paramount Group, Aselsan South Africa, and Unipro Protective Wear. These partners are helping us deploy advanced surveillance, mobility, and protective technologies to modernize border operations.

In addition, Sanlam/Assupol will support the health and wellbeing of officials working in demanding border environments.

We also appreciate industry partners in the maritime and aviation sectors, including the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAFF) and the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE), for their continued cooperation.

Regional Cooperation

At a regional level, we’ve held discussions with our six neighbouring countries — Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, eSwatini, and Botswana — to improve coordination and streamline border processes.

These engagements led to agreements to extend operating hours at selected ports of entry that do not run 24 hours a day. These extensions have been approved by the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, in his role as Chairperson of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Border Management.

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More than 50 officials working at South Africa’s ports of entry have been dismissed after being implicated in corruption schemes that allowed undocumented travellers to enter the country illegally.

The Border Management Authority (BMA) confirmed the dismissals as part of an intensified anti-corruption drive aimed at restoring integrity at the country’s borders.

BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato said investigations revealed that some officials were involved in activities such as fraudulent passport stamping and illegally extending the stay of travellers in South Africa.

According to Masiapato, certain officials were “selling days”, a corrupt practice where travellers whose legal stay had expired were illegally granted additional time in the country.

The crackdown follows the establishment of the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum, a multi-agency structure led by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Authorities say tip-offs submitted through the Operation Itebise hotline helped expose some of the corruption schemes.

While more than 50 officials have been dismissed, several are also facing criminal prosecution in courts near major ports of entry including Musina (Beitbridge), Ladybrand (Maseru Bridge) and Komatipoort (Lebombo).

The BMA also confirmed that an additional 38 officials are currently undergoing disciplinary processes that could lead to further dismissals.

To deter corruption, body cameras have been introduced for frontline border officials. Authorities say the cameras are already acting as a strong deterrent.

However, the BMA is currently operating at about 25% capacity. Government has allocated more than R900 million over the next three years to recruit around 700 additional staff members to strengthen border management operations.

Officials say the crackdown forms part of broader efforts to tighten border security, combat illegal migration and restore integrity within South Africa’s immigration system.

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