At the outset of this presentation, may I take this opportunity to join the call by President Jacob Zuma and former President Nelson Mandela, the Nation and the African continent to rally behind Bafana Bafana in their critical match against France later this afternoon. Even though their task is daunting, we will continue to hoist the national flag in support of our national team and the hosting of the world cup on our soil. Our thoughts and prayers will be with Bafana Bafana as they trot onto the field against France this afternoon.
As you are aware in order to meet government’s guarantees to FIFA, our mandate as a department relates to the issuance of visas, work permits as well as priority treatment for FIFA delegates, national teams, other accredited persons and the multitudes of football fans arriving at our air and land ports of entry.
In pursuance of meeting these obligations, the department has prioritised 34 air and land ports of entry including Oliver Tambo, Cape Town and King Shaka International Airports for daily monitoring, the provision of early warning signals and the implementation of contingency planning for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
We have also recently signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with our Lesotho and Mozambican counterparts to assist in the establishment of such temporary joint border clearance facilities. In addition, we have advised several of our Southern African Development Community (SADC) counterparts to issue their nationals with machine-readable travel documents that will be compatible with our Movement Control System (MCS).
We have implemented a trio of measures comprising the MCS in 34 air and land ports of entry, the Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system and the deployment of Airline Liaison Officers (ALOs) at eight strategic hubs abroad, namely Nairobi, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Dubai, Frankfurt, Lagos, London and Mumbai to monitor the movement of travellers into South Africa.
Movement Control System
As you all are aware, the MCS, linked to both South African Revenue Service (SARS) and law enforcement agencies has delivered great successes including assisting the country in denying entry to a number of soccer hooligans particularly from Argentina and Great Britain who sought to enter our country over the past few weeks.
In addition, the MCS has also assisted the law enforcement agencies in apprehending some suspects who were on the wanted list for a variety of reasons. During the period 1 to 21 June, these systems recorded 1 793 846 movements into and out of the country (all ports of entry). 916 097 were arrivals of travellers including South Africans into the country through our land and air ports of entry. Of this figure, 682 317 travellers were foreigners. During the same period in 2009, 735 907 arrivals were recorded including South Africans. Of this figure 541 065 were foreign arrivals.
Movements associated with the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Up to 13 June 2010, the total volume of travellers were 456 423. As at 21 June 2010 an additional increase of 226 084 travellers have arrived. In total 682 507 foreign visitors have entered the country to date.
It is also important to note that many visitors to the country have not entered with match certificates or match vouchers. However, it can be expected that these travellers would form part of the celebrations through participation in the fan parks among others.
Top 15 nationalities visiting the country
During the same period, the top five nationalities entering the country comprise Southern African Development Community (SADC) states including Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana. Followed by the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Germany, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Namibia and Argentina completes the top nationalities list.
Advance Passenger Processing (APP)
The Advance Passenger Processing system allows us to bar undesirable elements from entering South Africa before boarding from their various points of departure. In this regard, 40 of the 54 airlines flying to South Africa are now signed up to the APP.
Inadmissible travellers
During the same reporting period 1 to 21 June, 12 157 contraventions have been identified at various air and land, ports of entry comprising individuals overstaying in terms of their entry conditions, over penalties for temporary residence permit abuses and occurrences where a passport was flagged as lost or stolen.
During the period 1 to 21 June, 34 hits were registered through the APP and these travellers were subsequently denied permission to board due to their travel documents being non-compliant with immigration requirements including visas, expired or fraudulent travel documents and being placed on the visa and entry stop list. In the same period a total of 468 563 travellers boarded flights utilising the APP.
Airline Liaison Officers (ALOs)
Through the deployment of Airline Liaison Officers (ALOs), we prevented a further 95 travellers from boarding flights to South Africa.
Tracing unit
In addition, to the above-mentioned measures, the department has also established a tracing unit, whose responsibility is to track individual who overstay post the world cup.
Border and incident management
During the reporting period, approximately 87 incidents were recorded at our various air and land ports of entry. These incidents relate to unlawful passports, emergency travel documents, refusals based on expired permits and prohibited persons.
The department is confident that the systems it has implemented, as part of the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will continue to make a major contribution towards combating crime and corruption way beyond the tournament.
The platform established by the Department of Home Affairs for the FIFA 2010 World Cup has indeed positioned us to deliver on government’s commitments to the nation regarding the delivery of quality services in the future.
As a department we are indeed proud to have contributed to the successful hosting of this first-ever African hosted FIFA World Cup by among others facilitating the safe and efficient movement of travellers through our land and air ports of entry.
