TEMPORARY SOLUTION FOR CONGESTION
Home Affairs boosts staff numbers at ports of entry
Department of Home Affairs receives permission for additional capacity at immigration desks despite hiring freeze
The Department of Home Affairs will deploy 255 additional staffers at all points of entry into SA during the festive season to ease congestion at the borders. The Department had re-prioritised resources to provide additional staff during the festive season, and is still engaging with the Treasury over permission to hire new permanent staff - amid a hiring freeze imposed on new non-essential staff. The Treasury also has concerns about the establishment of a new border management authority, particularly over whether it will muscle in on the authority of the South African Revenue Service. "We are beginning to place home affairs at the centre, not only of the border but also of our points of entry, to ensure it plays its leading role in the lead-up to the full establishment of the border management authority," Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Thursday. At a media briefing on his department’s plans to deal with the festive season tourism peak, Gigaba said there would be extend...
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