By Amy Musgrave
The Border Management Authority is upping its game to deal with increased volumes of people and goods this upcoming festive season, through technology and collaboration.
It is getting ready to roll out drones to monitor congestion, illegal movement of people across the border line and any acts that require interventions.
The intervention has been welcomed by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, which said it has been steadfast in its insistence that the BMA must consider new technologies as it will assist the authority to be agile and respond timeously to incidents.
The BMA briefed the committee on its plans for the holidays on Tuesday.
“The plans laid out are reassuring that the BMA and stakeholders are ready for a seamless movement of the expected increased volumes of people and goods into and out of the country.
“The adoption of technology as a force multiplier is a welcomed intervention in the context of the increased fiscal pressures that hinder maximum deployment of human resources to the ports of entry,” committee chairperson Mosa Chabane said in a statement.
The committee urged Armscor to urgently conclude procurement of the BMA’s own drones to ensure that the authority has the capabilities it needed to implement its mandate.
Meanwhile, the committee welcomed the increased collaboration between the BMA, local law enforcement agencies and the army aimed at securing the country’s borders, especially during upcoming period of increased movement.
Also, an additional 314 people will be deployed to various high-volume ports of entry to ensure the faster movement of people and goods across the border post, with BMA ICT technicians on standby full-time at 12 prioritised ports of entry to provide direct support and prevent delays.
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