NatJOINTS visits all land ports to evaluate its operational readiness
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS), comprising of various government departments, has visited some commercial land ports between 14 and 18 December 2015 to evaluate operational readiness to cater for the mass movement of people and goods during this festive season.
During this period every year hundreds of thousands of people, including holiday makers and migrants, pass through our land ports either on foot or in cars and busses to holiday destinations or to return home to neighbouring countries, namely Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique.
The NatJOINTS role-players visited the following ports of entry to ensure that the capacity and capabilities of the various departments deployed at these ports are adequate to ensure a smooth flow of people, as well as to combat any form of criminality :
- Fickburg and Maseru (Lesotho)
- Ramatlabama, Skilpad, Kopfontein and Grobblersbrug (Bostwana)
- Oshoek and Golela (Swaziland)
- Beitbridge (Zimbabwe)
- Lebombo and Gate 6 (Mozambique)
"With such a large number of people, goods and traffic passing through these ports during this time of year the potential for criminality is greater and criminals are likely to believe that they can pass through these borders undetected,” said the NatJOINTS Chairperson, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela.
Various government departments have been deployed at the border posts to combat crimes such as human trafficking, the proliferation of drugs, firearms, counterfeit goods, stolen and hi-jacked vehicles and to look for wanted suspects.
During the year hundreds of people pass through these land borders but during peak periods, especially over Christmas and New Year, the number of people grows to tens of thousands. Therefore, additional personnel had to be deployed to beef up capacity with a view to ensuring a smooth flow of people crossing these border posts.
"We are satisfied thus far with the additional deployments as well as with the strategies that are in place to effectively ensure the smooth flow of people, goods and vehicles through our border posts as well as measures implemented to mitigate the identified risks and threats,” said General Mawela.
We want to urge travelers to ensure that they are in possession of the relevant documentation as this will assist in preventing unnecessary delays at our ports of entry. Furthermore, travelers are cautioned against offering any form of remuneration to officials in exchange for favours as this is a criminal offence. Officials have been warned about the serious consequences of soliciting bribes.
Enquiries:
Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo
Cell: 082 567 4153
