Closure of land borders prove Home Affairs' sheer inability to address chaos at Beitbridge
12 January 2021
The Democratic Alliance (DA) holds the view that the closure of South Africa’s land borders with neighbouring countries has more to do with the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) sheer inability to address the recent chaos at the Beitbridge Border Post, than curbing the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of land borders citing the risk of exposure to Covid-19 due to congestion that was making it difficult to enforce health requirements before entry into the country.
While it was evident that the congestion at Beitbridge was bordering on a major Covid and humanitarian crisis, the reality is that it was a crisis brought on by the DHA’s abysmal record in border management and lack of foresight to adequately capacitate the border control facility to process travellers, enforce Covid protocols and screening as well as verifying Covid tests.
The high volume of travel at South Africa’s land border posts are a common occurrence over the festive period, surely the department should have known that the congestion was a possibility in light ofCovid protocols and the curfew. The chaos that ensued at Beitbridge was just a symptom of the incompetence, mismanagement and lack of accountability that has become synonymous with Home Affairs over the years.