Customs

In a 36-page Government Gazette of 05 August 2015, marked ‘Secret’, the Department of Home Affairs has published the Border Management Agency Bill for public comment.

The bill is to provide for the establishment, organisation, regulation and control of the Border Management Agency; to provide for the transfer, assignment and designation of law enforcement border-related functions to the Border Management Agency; and to provide for matters connected thereto.

Its PREAMBLE reads:

(i) RECOGNISING that border management is exercised by multiple organs of state with a purpose of securing borders and protecting the national interest;

(ii) FURTHER RECOGNISING the need for integrated and coordinated border management that facilitates secure travel and legitimate trade in accordance with the Constitution, international and domestic law, in order to contribute to the prevention of smuggling and trafficking of human beings and goods; that prevents illegal cross -border movement; that contributes to the protection of the Republic's environment and natural resources; that contributes to the facilitation of legitimate trade and secure travel; that ensures effective and efficient border law enforcement at ports of entry and on the borderline; that contributes to the socio- economic development of the Republic; and that protects the Republic from harmful and infectious diseases, pests and substances;

(iii) ACKNOWLEDGING that the circumstances of modern travel and trade require a single agency to be responsible for ports of entry and the borderline of the Republic and acknowledging the need to balance the facilitation of legitimate trade and travel with security;

(iv) AND FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGING the constitutional responsibility of the Defence Force to defend and protect the Republic, its territorial integrity and its people.

Comment is due by 04 September 2015.



Readers will recall the announcement by Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba on 06 February 2015, which reads:

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba welcomes South African Revenue Service (Sars) staff seconded to the Border Management Agency (BMA) Project Management Office.

The minister has welcomed ninety 93 of the Sars Collaborative Border Management (CBM) unit into the Border Management Agency (BMA) Project Management Office in Pretoria.

The Sars staff were seconded on 01 February 2015 to the BMA Project Management Office in the Department of Home Affairs, a national project with domestic, regional, Pan-African and global dimensions.

The Border Management Project Office was put in place to promote government’s vision and realisation of a new, integrated border management, through the BMA. The BMA will be established as a single body under one accounting authority that has its basis in enabling legislation. The goal for integrated border management is to deliver excellent border management outcomes by planning and acting within one framework.

The vision of the BMA was endorsed by the SA cabinet at its meeting on 10 December 2014. Among other things it would be outcomes-focused, simultaneously addressing various priorities such as national security, the efficient facilitation of legitimate trade and travel and regional integration.

It will assume control of both ports of entry and borderline functions. Presently the responsibilities for border management are split between various organs of state at ports of entry and along the borderline. Key powers and functions from organisations such as Home Affairs, Sars, SAPS, the SANDF and the Departments of Health, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will need to be ceded to the BMA.

A thorough review of the Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee (BCOCC) which currently oversees and coordinates the functions of all state agencies operating at the country’s borders is expected to be completed by the middle of March 2015. The BMA Project Management Office will drive this assessment together with BCOCC stakeholders. Also to receive attention would be the reality and perception of the porosity of the borderline.

The target of submitting a BMA Bill to Cabinet by mid-2015 has been set.