Home Affairs raises alarm over border authority underfunding

The Citizen

19-06-2025

The funding crisis is forcing the BMA to adopt a "do more with less" approach, limiting its capacity to address border security challenges.
Picture for illustrations purposes. Border Management Authority (BMA) guards at the Beit Bridge port of entry in Limpopo. Picture: GCIS
The portfolio committee on Home Affairs has raised serious concerns about the continued underfunding of the Border Management Authority (BMA), warning that financial constraints are severely hampering the organisation's ability to fulfil its mandate and implement crucial cybersecurity measures.
The BMA faces critical funding shortfalls that are hampering its ability to secure South Africa's borders and combat corruption, with the agency receiving only 30% of its requested operational budget.
During a parliamentary meeting on Tuesday with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and the Border Management Authority to review revised annual and strategic plans for the 2025-26 financial year, committee members raised serious concerns over what they described as systemic funding shortfalls that pose significant security risks to South Africa's border operations.
BMA Chief Financial Officer Zamachonco Chonco revealed that the BMA had requested R500 million for capital funding but received only R150 million.
'We do appreciate it we're not saying we we're not saying this by way of lack of appreciation for what we got but we are saying it's still far short taking us where we have to be in terms of you know delivering on the mandate of the BMA,' Deputy Commissioner Mabjoalo Jane Thupana told the committee.
The funding crisis is forcing the authority to adopt a 'do more with less' approach, significantly limiting its capacity to address border security challenges and implement critical anti-corruption measures.
Cybersecurity and staff integrity concerns
The committee highlighted that the authority's cybersecurity roadmap remains completely unfunded, creating potentially dangerous vulnerabilities in border security systems.
Equally concerning is the BMA's inability to conduct lifestyle audits for all employees due to budget constraints, a situation the committee views as particularly problematic given the sensitive nature of border operations.
Committee chairperson Mosa Chabane emphasised the critical importance of regular integrity checks within the border environment.
The committee had previously stressed the necessity of frequent lifestyle audits as essential tools for maintaining ethical standards at ports of entry and preventing corruption and fraudulent activities.
Thupana disclosed that conducting lifestyle audits for just 100 employees would cost R9 million, meaning auditing all BMA employees would require nearly a quarter of a billion rand.
'We continue to work hard. This is one of the projects where we are saying we just needed to inform members that we don't have money for this at the moment, but we are prioritising it. Any money that becomes available for the BMA, we will be able to do that,' Thupana explained.
The commissioner emphasised that more than 90% of BMA employees are frontline officers, including border guards, specialised immigration officers, and law enforcement personnel, as well as back-office staff in supply chain management, who all need to be subjected to these audits.
Digital transformation leadership gap
The committee has intensified pressure on the Department of Home Affairs to expedite the appointment of a Deputy Director-General for ICT, describing this position as fundamental to driving the department's digital transformation initiatives effectively.
'Digital transformation of the DHA has been identified as a critical pillar of the strategic plan, and having a dedicated leader will ensure close focus, especially in the context of complexities and cybersecurity risks within the environment. While the committee acknowledged the secondment of an ICT official from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the intervention is not permanent,' Chabane stated.
Progress on digitisation despite challenges
The committee acknowledged positive developments in the department's ongoing digitisation of paper-based records, an initiative launched during the previous administration under former Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
However, members urged the department to secure additional funding to enhance the digitisation process and ensure it delivers expected outcomes.
Chabane noted that persistent problems with lengthy queues and frequent system downtimes require dedicated expertise within the ICT sector to develop innovative solutions.
The committee emphasised that recent government announcements allowing departments to procure IT services from private providers necessitate high-quality service delivery to the public.
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BMA deployment falls short of targets
The BMA's ambitious plans to strengthen border security through increased personnel deployment have also been derailed by funding constraints.
The authority currently has 600 border guards and had planned to increase this number by 200 annually, reaching 2,200 by 2032.
However, this conservative target remains far below the 10 000 border guards proposed in the original roadmap.
Thupana acknowledged that even the modest annual increase of 200 guards 'is also not materialising' due to budget limitations.
The authority is pinning hopes on technology to multiply the effectiveness of its limited human resources through the use of drones, underground sensors, and other international border monitoring technologies.
Integration challenges persist
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber highlighted another critical issue hampering the BMA's effectiveness: the incomplete integration of the South African Police Service's border policing function.
Schreiber revealed that while he has completed his part of the process, the final step of establishing the BMA remains with Saps.
'We are all working and operating in this committee as if the process of establishing the BMA is concluded, but it is quite a serious issue that the Saps part of that has not been concluded,' the minister stated.
He confirmed ongoing engagement with the police minister to resolve this urgent matter, noting that a 'large number of officers' could be integrated into the BMA once the process is completed.
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Operational constraints and creative solutions
The funding shortage has forced the BMA to explore creative solutions to maintain operations.
Thupana outlined a multi-skilling programme where officials are trained across different areas, allowing biosecurity inspectors to also handle environmental products and other related functions.
The authority has also begun collaborating with municipalities, starting with the City of Cape Town, to share capacity and relieve pressure at ports of entry.
These partnerships aim to better utilise available resources for improved port functioning.
Despite these efforts, basic operational needs remain unmet.
The limited capital funding can only be used for operational equipment such as drones, speed boats for coastal guard operations, vehicles, and other specialised border management equipment.
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Smart ID rollout faces implementation challenges
The committee also heard about ongoing challenges with the smart ID rollout, which the minister described as critical for combating identity fraud.
With an estimated 18 million green ID books still in circulation, Schreiber cited research showing that smart IDs are 500% less prone to fraud than green ID books.
'There was a report out earlier this year that found the smart ID is 500% less prone to fraud than the green ID book and that the green ID book in fact has a fraud rate of 34% according to these researchers, which makes it the most defrauded one in Africa,' Schreiber revealed.
The department is exploring various mechanisms to expand smart ID access, including smartphone applications, partnerships with banks, kiosks, and mobile units, with the ultimate goal of ceasing green ID book production.
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Branding and infrastructure needs
Thupana also addressed the importance of proper branding and signage at ports of entry.
She noted that poor signage facilitates corruption by allowing people to deliberately get lost or enabling officials to misdirect travellers to meet them in isolated areas.
'When there is proper signage, people know where to go, [and] it also facilitates movement, people are not lost wasting their time not sure where to find what they are looking for,' Thupana explained.
She further emphasised that improved branding serves efficiency and helps combat criminal activities within port premises.
Budget transfers still pending
The committee learned that some departmental functions transferred to the BMA came without corresponding budget allocations.
The BMA's chief financial officer is still engaging with various departments to secure budget transfers for items such as lease agreements for properties housing nearly 400 employees across different ports.
'When some departments identified budgets to be transferred, they focused on the budgets for compensation of employees and maybe just some assets like their laptops, tools and the desks they're sitting on. But the budgets that were centralised were not within where ports were located in the departments, but within facilities somewhere; this budget was not extracted to be transferred to the BMA,' Thupana explained.
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Counter-corruption unit success
The committee praised the effectiveness of the department's counter-corruption unit and called for continued adequate funding to support its operations.
Members highlighted the unit's significant impact in combating fraud and corruption within departmental operations, as well as its role in protecting the integrity of the country's documentation systems.
'The major headway the unit has made in breaking racket that fraudulently sells the department's documents must be protected and promoted. The unit must be properly resourced, both in human capacity and technological tools of trade,' Chabane stressed.
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