Bribe claims rock Lebombo border as travel surges
The Border Management Authority (BMA) has denied allegations of corruption at the busy port of entry, saying systems are in place to monitor officials and deal decisively with any wrongdoing.
Image: Border Management Authority
As thousands of travellers continue to pass through the Lebombo Border Post in Mpumalanga, the Border Management Authority (BMA) has denied allegations of corruption at the busy port of entry, saying systems are in place to monitor officials and deal decisively with any wrongdoing.
This comes as reports indicate that some travellers claim officials demand up to R150 for priority processing, and that those who do not pay are forced to wait for hours.
BMA Commissioner Mike Masiapato said that some travellers are the ones offering bribes, adding that such acts are illegal and any official found accepting them would face strict disciplinary action.
“Some of the colleagues that came with us from Pretoria, for instance, assisting with queue management, have been approached by individuals who say Let me give you R100, please take me to the front and they literally reject that," Masiapato said, according to the SABC.
He added that officials at the border are closely monitored through body cameras, allowing control room staff to track interactions in real time.
"In terms of ordinary officials that are doing work here are wearing body cameras, meaning that in the control room, they are able to follow the activities they do, even the interactions that they have with the travellers. Therefore, should they be accepting any bribe they would definitely be dealt with very, very decisively".
IOL previously reported that the Lebombo Border Post has been experiencing record festive-season travel, with more than 30,000 travellers processed into Mozambique within 24 hours. The BMA said the high numbers put pressure on staff and infrastructure but emphasised that border operations continued without major disruptions.
“In terms of the current infrastructure, in terms of the current capacity from a staff point of view, and the rest of the working tools of trade, the reality is the people that are coming here at Lebombo are a lot.
“Just in the past 24 hours, we have been able to process over 30,152 individuals. There is no other land port that has ever reached that number. That is the number that is mostly counted at places like OR Tambo International Airport. But we have reached it here. That is a demonstration".
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