Other successes Masiapato shared included the arrest of more than 44,000 people since April at various border posts for trying to enter the country illegally, the further arrest of 2,243 people found to have committed crimes near the ports of entry as well as the refusal to grant entry to more than 90,000 people for various reasons.
Outlining the festive season measures, Masiapato said they included some of the country’s busiest ports of entry, such as OR Tambo and Cape Town international airports, Beitbridge and Lebombo.
“During the development of our plan, these realities were taken into consideration, especially regarding the need for the deployment of additional human resources [at these ports].
“During the planning phase, we had intensive inter-jurisdictional engagements with our six immediate neighbours — Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini and Botswana — on the synchronisation of processes and other work modalities, such as specialised port operating and closing times during this period.”
He confirmed that while some ports operated 24/7, the home affairs minister had approved a request to extend operating hours at other identified “critical ports” on certain days.
These included Grobler’s Bridge, Swartkopfontein, Kosi Bay, Mahamba and Jeppes Reef.
