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Border guards

TWO hundred new border guards from the Border Management Authority, established to crack down on porous borders, will hit the ground running next week.

This was announced by Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi in Parliament this week.

This is the first step towards establishing a fully-fledged agency focusing on the country’s borders.

He said they would be sent to problematic areas on the borderline.

Motsoaledi told MPs that the immigration system needed to be overhauled and he was implementing that plan.

The BMA has been in the making for many years and was finally signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2020.

Dr Mike Masiapata was appointed the commissioner and he has two deputies.

The BMA is part of the Department of Home Affairs, but from April next year it will be a separate entity in charge of the borders. | IOL