The Department of Home Affairs has begun to implement a comprehensive plan for the smooth movement of South African nationals, visitors and others into and out of the country, in anticipation of their increased movement through all land, air and sea ports of entry for the festive season.
The operational plan, implemented since Monday, 13 December 2010 is based on the successful implementation of the department’s innovative new Movement Control System (MCS) for South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In addition to ensuring the smooth movement of travellers, the MCS will also assist the Department of Home Affairs and other government agencies to prevent the entry of undesirable elements into the country to ensure optimal security for South Africans and foreigners alike.
As part of its preparations, Home Affairs has optimised its cooperation with various other government departments and agencies including the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Health, the South African Police Service (SAPS), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Intelligence and the Border Control Coordinating Committee (BCOCC). This collective of departments and agencies will be coordinating operations throughout the festive season.
To further ensure the smooth movement of travellers, the department has also increased its human resource capacity by 198 officials at six key Land Ports of Entry (PoE) including Beit Bridge, Lebombo, Ficksburg, Maseru, Oshoek and Kopfontein. As a consequence of 24 hour monitoring through its operations centre, the department will be in a position to rotate this capacity at short notice to ports of entry with high volumes.
As a department, we are confident that all the required measures are in place to ensure the safe and smooth movement of travellers into and out of the country. We take this opportunity to wish South Africans and foreigners alike a peaceful and restful festive season.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
