Leon Schreiber Confirms BMA Has a 75% Vacancy Rate as Just 2,146 Officers Guard Country’s Borders

• Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber confirmed in a written parliamentary reply that the Border Management Authority was understaffed
• The staffing crisis comes as the BMA faces ongoing corruption concerns, with more than 50 immigration officials dismissed earlier this year
• The figures were provided in response to questions about staffing levels, and caused a stir on social media as citizens expressed frustration

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.

WESTERN CAPE — The Border Management Authority is operating with just 2,146 officers across its four operational regions, while three in every four positions within the authority remain unfilled, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber confirmed.

Schreiber provided the figures in a written reply to questions submitted by African Transformation Movement Member of Parliament Thandiswa Linnen Marawu.

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Marawu sought clarity on staffing levels at border posts, the adequacy of current personnel numbers and whether officers had the tools needed to effectively combat corruption.

BMA staffing numbers by region

According to Schreiber's response, the Central Region, which covers Gauteng and the Free State, has 669 officers; the Eastern Region, encompassing KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, operates with 696 officers, while the Northern Region, covering Limpopo and North West, has 490. The Southern Region, which includes the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape, accounts for the remaining 291 officers.

Marawu also asked whether this headcount was sufficient relative to the volume of visitors entering South Africa each month.

Schreiber's reply left little room for ambiguity: "No, the BMA continues to operate with a 75% vacancy rate."

The staffing shortfall comes at a time when the BMA is also grappling with internal corruption. In March, the authority announced that more than 50 immigration officials had been dismissed following findings that they were involved in corrupt activities at ports of entry, with a further 38 officials still under investigation at the time.

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How did South Africans react?

The vacancy crisis has drawn sharp reactions online.

@imelda_mosaka asked:

"Why was this BMA stockvel started in the first place if it cannot deliver on its mandate more than five years in? Who is benefiting from this incompetence?"

@main_man4 stated:

"I always wonder why these people don't want to hire people. Especially with so many unemployed people."

@afrovich questioned:

"We have soldiers getting paid to get fat at barracks. We have no war that we are fighting. I don't understand why the army doesn't plug the gap."

@Lindilereal claimed:

"It's understaffed on purpose. They want to make it easy for millions of illegal immigrants to flood into the country so they can document them, provide them with free health care, free schooling, and SASSA grants. The government and Cyril Ramaphosa have unlimited resources for illegals."

@YonahSlimela noted:

"When we have thousands of graduates sitting at home."

@MikeyMashila stated:

"I'll pretend to be shocked. Honestly, the whole administration must be held accountable for this incompetence in all spheres. Squeeze harder."

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Home Affairs exceeds deportation budget

Briefly News previously reported that the Department of Home Affairs has vastly exceeded its deportation budget.

The department has spent R292 million on deportation operations this financial year, nearly five times the budgeted amount.

South Africa has formally requested reimbursement from several foreign governments to help cover the costs of deporting their citizens.

Source: Briefly News