The Border Management Authority (BMA) has activated a nationwide festive season border security plan, which is set to kick in on Wednesday. The plan will see intensified operations across all 71 ports of entry, including 52 land posts, 10 international airports and nine seaports, along with enforcement in the 10km designated border law-enforcement area inside the country and 12 nautical miles outward at sea. Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato said the expanded deployment is driven by long-standing patterns showing that the festive period attracts sharp spikes in traveller volumes and attempted illegal crossings.
“Historical trends show that the number of travellers entering and leaving the country increases drastically during this time and so do efforts by individuals attempting to enter South Africa illegally,” he said. Masiapato said the past two festive seasons illustrate this trend clearly, with foreign nationals accounting for 78% of all cross-border travellers in 2023/24 and 70% in 2024/25. The bulk of this movement is processed through ten major ports, including OR Tambo International Airport, Beitbridge, Lebombo, Ficksburg, Maseru Bridge, Oshoek and Cape Town International Airport.
“For instance, in the 2023/24 festive period, we had processed about five-million travellers. Seventy-eight of those were foreign travellers, while only 22% were South Africans. In terms of the 2024/25 festive period, where we processed just around 4.5-million travellers, 70% of those were foreign nationals, with 30% being South Africans.
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“These ports will receive the highest concentration of personnel and technology to ensure smoother processing and greater security,” Masiapato added. To support the heightened operational plan, provinces and national departments have seconded staff and resources, including 50 additional personnel in Cape Town, 80 in Gauteng and 160 tourism monitors to assist with queue management. The authority stated that social workers will also be stationed at key ports to assist unaccompanied minors and victims of human trafficking.
The BMA has also partnered with freight, shipping and import associations through a cost-recovery model to help fund certain operations. Private sector partners will provide drones, bodycams and protective technologies to bolster detection capabilities and curb corruption at ports. To reduce congestion, the BMA has worked with neighbouring countries Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini and Botswana to extend operating hours at busy ports and streamline cross-border processes. Travellers have been urged to comply with all health, immigration and biosecurity requirements, including valid passports, appropriate visas, residential address details, yellow fever certificates where needed and full documentation for minors.
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