Opinion / Columnist
Porous borders: a threat to SA security
26 Nov 2014 at 05:49hrs | Views
CAPE TOWN - While the South African government has been commended for its "open door" policy on immigrants, experts have raised concerns about security threats possed by thousands of undocumented foreigners who arrive in the country every week.
The demise of apartheid following the democratic elections in 1994 saw hundreds of foreigners flocking to the rainbow nation to seek greener pastures. On arrival in the country, many immigrants approach Home Affairs offices to apply for political asylum.
The African immigrants were later followed by many from Asia and former Eastern European countries. Many have settled in the country illegally taking advantage of South Africa's weak immigration laws and porous northern borders with Zimbabwe and Mozambique.The South Africa - Mozambique border is about 491 km long while the Zimbabwe border stretches for 225 km.
According to security experts the two borderlines have become a haven for human, goods and drug traffickers, arms smugglers and rhino poaching. Nigerian syndicates also operate a thriving stolen cars racket along the Mozambique-South Africa and South Africa-Namibia borderlines.
A security expert at the Institute for Security Studies says the Mozambique-South Africa border alone has more than 70 illegal crossing points some of which were used by Renamo rebels during apartheid rule. Illegal immigrants from Asia and West Africa also use the same crossings under the guidance of human traffickers.
South African soldiers who patrol the border with Zimbabwe and Mozambique have failed to stop the illegal crossings. Even blind Zimbabweans know where to locate illegal entry points on arrival in Beitbridge.
They know how to find their way into the country despite their disabilities.Apart from Zimbabweans, the Beitbridge border post is also used by people from Central, West and East Africa. A member of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) tells me the smuggling of stolen cars into Mozambique has increased since the beginning of the year.
" We come into contact with Mozambican car thieves everyday but we are disabled by the law because even when I see someone driving away in a stolen car I am not allowed to shoot the bastard," said the frustrated soldier who is part of a battalion deployed to patrol the KZN border with Mozambique and Swaziland.
The issue of South Africa's porous borders with Zimbabwe and Mozambique became a heated debate at a Heads of Mission conference in Pretoria in August.Security minister David Mahlobo told the conference that globalisation had resulted in porous borders-allowing terrorist groups to smuggle weapons into the country's.
That of course is not correct Mr Minister.Globalisation has nothing to do with South African government's failure to protect its borders.It is the country's weak laws and non-existent intelligence services that have resulted in lawlessness along the borders with Zimbabwe and Mozambique
The minister admitted that some militia groups were involved in illegal training of their operatives inside South Africa.This has not gone down well with Western intelligence communities.In my article about terrorist groups using South African travel documents in August, I highlighted security concerns raised by Britain and the USA about the presence of Islamic terrorist groups in South Africa.
South Africa does not even know how many immigrants are in the country because the majority of them are not registered.They come into the country illegally and intergrate themselves into the communities sometimes using marriages of convenience.
During apartheid,South African borders were fortified with high voltage electric fences to stop infiltrations into the country by guerrillas of the African National Congress (MK) who had bases in Zambia and a small presence in Mozambique and Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe.
South Africa has a 4471 km land and 7660 km air borders with its neighbours.But during white rule, immigrants from other parts of Africa never tried to come to South Africa because of the presence of the military.
Regular soldiers and self defence units patrolled the borders making it impossible for immigrants to come into the country.Those who tried to enter the country were shot on sight on suspicion of being terrorists.
No soldier was charged for killing a suspected terrorist-often classified as blacks even though MK cadres were a mixture of whites,Indians,coloureds and blacks.After the demise of aparthied the northern border became free for all.Its now a wild wild west along the Beitbridge-Resano Garcia borders where you meet all types of smugglers who can kill if they feel threatened.
Immigrants from West and Southern Africa have successfully manipulated South Africa's weak immigration laws to arrange marriages of convenience.The immigrants mostly from Nigeria target black and coloured women for fake marriages.
The marriages have nothing to do with love.To many Nigerians, marriages of convenience are nothing but an ordinary business transaction.When they marry local women, foreigners only have one thing in their minds-acquiring South African residence permit and legalise their stay.
The permit allows them to be in possession of local identity documents including citizenship.Once they get married at Home Affairs the foreign husband will avoid being deported even if he had entered the country illegally.This has seen many foreigners with dubious credentials acquiring South African passports.
According to a report by the Institute for Security Studies, weakened states, whether in Central Europe, South America or in Southern Africa, provided ideal conditions in which organised crime could flourish.
Organised crime has been transformed from a domestic to an international phenomenon, and from a law and order problem to a national and international security threat.Criminal syndicates currently active in South Africa include Nigerian drug syndicates, the Russian mafia, South American drug cartels or Chinese triads.
Former South Africa police chief, Bheki Cele once said: "We are being targeted by international criminals, who are making factories of drugs in South Africa. They all come from Nigeria and live in Sandton."
Well not all the international drug cartels in South Africa come from Nigeria.Nigerians have linked up with other drug barons from China, Eastern Europe, South and North America.
Home Affairs officials have told me that most of the bogus marriages involving foreigners were between Nigerians and black women who are fooled into believing the marriages were genuine.
Nigerians now boast that one day a South African President will have Nigerian roots as a result of the marriages of convenience-the Barack Obama debacle.Obama is the son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father Barack Obama senior. His parents met in 1960 at the University of Hawai in Honolulu.
The new South Africa also attracted international drug and human traffickers, brothel operators who also run baby factories in the country and spies.Other new arrivals included commercial sex workers and fugitives from justice from all over the world.
Former Hutu masterminds of the Rwandan genocide also took advantage of South Africa's weak immigration laws and sought asylum in the country. Dont blame the Rwandan government when they accuse South Africa of harbouring dissidents and fugitives from justice.Home Affairs here does not screen asylum seekers.
Fugitives from justice and international criminals have applied and given refuge permits in the country.Home Affairs, staffed by too many inefficient and poorly trained officers most of whom did not even know countries called Rwanda and Congo existed,has failed to document immigrants entering the country through porous borders in the north and east.
Accurate figures of the population of illegal immigrants in the country are difficult to obtain. Estimates of the illegal immigrants currently living in the country vary.
Different government departments and refugee agencies have put the figure between 4 to 5 Million.Others believe the figure could be as high as 8 Million.
Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and now Congolese are believed to make up the largest number of illegal immigrants in South Africa.
Taking advantage of lack of accountability and seriousness by the authorities, some of the foreigners-Nigerians and Chinese in particular, are now running organised crime syndicates.
Intelligence information suggest there were 285 organised crime syndicates operating in South Africa by 2011.It has been proved that as soon as they arrive in the country with or without proper documents, the immigrants intergrate themselves since some have relatives already in the country.
This is supported by the Pretoria based Institute for Security Studies. Some foreigners stay with their South African girlfriends while looking for piece jobs.The police, even when they are aware of their presence, turn a blind eye to their activities.
Apart from Johannesburg, other cities never mount operations to flush out illegal immigrants.On arrival in the country, it does not take time for most of the illegal immigrants to find jobs in restaurants, hotels, construction, agriculture and in the domestic sector.
Unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2012 was at 35.4 percent. While foreigners don't seem to struggle to get jobs in South Africa, locals cry foul accusing immigrants of accepting low wages and working longer hours.
Some employers hire illegal immigrants fully aware of their status.Its a free for all situation for both the employers and foreign job seekers.While they can not operate with impunity in their own countries, the illegal immigrants here do as they please.
Zimbabwean immigrants also outnumber locals in the hospitality industry. At station deck in Cape Town, 90 percent of people renting municipal stalls are foreigners from West and Central Africa.I know only less than 10 locals who operate stalls at the station deck.
Nigerian criminals ran a successful baby making factory and brothels in KZN for many months without being detected by security agencies.When the local enforcement agencies were finally given a tip off about their activities, the Nigerians moved their operations to another location taking with them their victims.
Such intelligence failures were unheard of during the days of apartheid where security was tight and borders heavily guarded by the army.Nigerians and now Congolese have become masters in marriages of convenience.
Using black women as their cover, Nigerians have managed to obtain local IDs and passports which they use to travel to other countries for their illegal businesses.
The permit can be renewed after every three or six months.After being issued with such permits, the bogus asylum seekers then move on to phase two of their plans- get a local woman and marry her.
Phase three - They apply for residence permit which they often obtain using the marriage certificate as backup.
Phase four - They apply for local passport which they often obtain without difficulties.Even asylum seekers with links to terrorist groups have acquired South African passports without difficulties.
In Nigeria, security agencies believe some foreigners from countries such as Chad and,Niger and Cameroon who have refugee status have links with Islamist group, Boko Haram. The organisation has caused havoc in Nigeria staging attacks against civillians and police stations.
It is only in South Africa where immigrants are issued with permits to work as maids or street vendors.In Zimbabwe, people who arrive in the country claiming to be refugees are taken to refugee camps run by United Nations.Once they arrive at the camps, they are vetted by the authorities.
Only people with proper travel documents who enter the country as visitors are allowed to move around freely.Zimbabwe intelligence services are manned by some of the best brains in Africa who have excelled in their duties as protectors of their nation.
Johan Burger, a senior researcher in the crime and justice programme at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria once said South Africa was a country without a clear strategy for managing its borders and urgently needed a single border control policy document.
With a unified strategy in place, various departments can identify their roles and get on with the job of safeguarding the country's land borders.
Source - Thabo Kunene
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