The first 200 cohorts of the Border Management Authority (BMA) Border Guards will be unveiled by Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi on Thursday in Musina, Limpopo

The first 200 cohorts of the Border Management Authority (BMA) Border Guards will be unveiled by Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi on Thursday in Musina, Limpopo.

At the deployment ceremony, which will take place on the same day at the Beitbridge Port of Entry in Musina, Limpopo, the newly hired Border Guard personnel will be welcomed.

The pass-out procession of the recently hired Border Guard members, who were carefully chosen and trained with an emphasis on fitness and physical examination, will be one of the day’s highlights.

This cohort will be statically deployed to the five susceptible boundary portions while the whole integration process is ongoing, collaborating with South African National Defence Force personnel there.

The Border Management Authority Act of 2020 created the BMA, which is now South Africa’s exclusive authority for border management under a single command and control.

On April 1, 2023, it will be completely operational thanks to the integration of five functional streams carried out by several government agencies, including the departments of Home Affairs, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, and Health.

This comprises the access control duties performed at the ports of entry by SA Police Service personnel.

According to a statement from the Department of Home Affairs, “the authority will tighten border management by applying an integrated and coordinated strategy in the border management environment.”

“This is an improvement over the prior multi-agency strategy, which included numerous authorities with various mandates.

“Once fully operational, the BMA will be instrumental in addressing border security issues that affect both the nation and its neighbours, such as disorganized traveller processing, transnational crime, unauthorized crossings, and unjustified delays in the facilitation of the movement of goods and services.

The BMA model, according to the government, “will open the door for the development of smart border posts and systems and improve trade facilitation in the region.”

The deployment ceremony will give the Minister and the BMA Commissioner a chance to discuss the latest developments and upcoming steps in the gradual establishment of this Authority, including the deployment of the Border Guards to start tightening border management in designated ports of entry and in vulnerable areas along the border.