The Border Management Authority (BMA) will host a pass-out parade for 400 new recruits who have completed their training at the South African Police Training College in Pretoria West.
The newly qualified junior border guards will be deployed at various ports of entry throughout the country after the pass-out parade on Thursday. They will be officially assigned as law enforcement officers with the responsibility to arrest and deport illegal migrants across all ports of entry.
“This important event comes during South Africa’s 30 years of democracy following years of struggle to curb illegal movement at ports of entry and along the borderline,” the border authority said in a statement.
“Our nation's borders are complex and therefore require discipline and courage to carry out the border management mandate. In other settings, daily you are faced with illegal migrants attempting to enter the country or smuggle illegal goods in or out of South Africa,” the BMA said.
BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato said the new recruits would demonstrate the physical and mental training that they had undergone during their training period at the parade event.
“We will celebrate not only their achievements but also reaffirm our steadfast support to the border guards. They are to be officially adorned not just as defenders of borders; they are the guardians of our freedom, the sentinels of our sovereignty,” said Masiapato.
More than 100 border management response vehicles will also be displayed at the passing-out parade.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the BMA in Musina last year.
At the time, he said the authority would provide a sustainable solution to the challenges of border security, control and co-ordination.
The authority is the third armed service in South Africa after the South African National Defence Force and the South African Police Service. – SAnews.gov.za
