The South African Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee will visit the Lebombo border on Tuesday 9 December to assess operations in light of the disruption caused by the ongoing political protests in Mozambique. The visit is part of the committee’s constitutional obligation to oversee the executive to ensure accountability.
‘The commission has already received operational plans covering the Border Management Authority and the Department of Home Affairs. The visit will assess the implementation of the plans developed. Some of the critical interventions that the committee would like to observe include the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones), which are being used to monitor congestion, illegal movements of people across the border line and any acts that require interventions,’ said Mosa Chabane, the chairperson of the committee, quoted in Parliament’s statement.
According to the document, the Lebombo border post is one of the busiest, and this year the sharp increase in volumes to be processed will be exacerbated by the recent political protests in Mozambique, so it is necessary for the committee to visit the infrastructure to assess whether the plans in place are adequate to overcome the anticipated challenges.
‘While we have full confidence in the law enforcement authorities to deal with any eventuality, it is necessary to ensure that plans are carefully drawn up to deal with different scenarios. It is also important that the committee assesses collaboration between the South African government and neighbouring countries to ensure smooth movement across the border,’ he said.
In light of the protests in Mozambique, it is also necessary for local law enforcement authorities to improve communication by diverting traffic to neighbouring posts to relieve the pressure in Lebombo.
The committee will also assess the allocation of additional human resources to the port to ensure adequate capacity at all times in the infrastructure.
