Beitbridge Bureau

South Africa's head of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Dr Mike Masiapato will tomorrow visit the Beitbridge border post to facilitate a speedy flow of traffic as the festive season winds up.

Already Zimbabwean border officials have started to clear more travellers heading to South Africa, starting on New Year's Eve.

These include South Africans, Malawians, Zambians, Zimbabweans and international travellers.

The BMA is the new entity that coordinates operations at South Africa's ports of entry.

Immigration authorities at Beitbridge said they were handling an average of 20 000 travellers daily, up from the usual 12 000 off-peak traffic.

In a statement on Monday, the BMA said Dr Masiapato will be at the port of entry between 3 to 4 January, to facilitate the return of many travellers from festive holidays.

"Beitbridge is one of the ports of entry which facilitate the majority of the people. The BMA also continues to urge travellers entering South Africa to ensure that all their travel documents are ready and in order," said the Authority.

"These include the machine-readable passports, relevant visas where applicable, permits for specified goods, plants, animals and vehicles. Over the years, we have experienced serious challenges during the return leg of the execution phase particularly as some travellers decide to illegally enter the country through the borderline. The Border Management Authority has enforced deployments coordinating with other law enforcement authorities."