The government says it lacks the funds required to allow the Department of Home Affairs to hire more officials and to man the proposed border management authority. The authority was approved by the Cabinet in 2016 and the Border Management Authority Bill, which will govern its implementation, is currently serving before Parliament. The authority is expected to be in operation by 2018. The Treasury set the department’s expenditure ceiling on employee compensation at R3.146bn in the 2016-17 financial year, R3.233bn in 2017-18 and R3.328bn in fiscal year 2018-19. The establishment of the authority has created tension between the department and the Treasury. Home affairs wants the authority to oversee all border-related functions, including customs revenue collection while the Treasury, which is currently performing this function through the South African Revenue Service (SARS), wants to keep it. Members of the home affairs portfolio committee implied on Tuesday that the department was ...

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