The Border Management Authority (BMA) says there has been a slight increase in the number of people leaving South Africa through the Beitbridge Border Post in Musina, Limpopo, during the winter period.
BMA Commissioner Dr Mike Masiapato says comparisons of May and June figures with the same period in previous years, show little difference despite the ongoing deportation and repatriation campaigns.
More than 45 000 undocumented immigrants have been processed and removed from the country since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the initiative.
Masiapato maintains that the current repatriation programme has not significantly affected overall cross-border movement.
“Effectively speaking you would say there’s no difference ultimately in terms of month-to-month comparisons. We have also done the comparisons in terms of last year as well as May this year, we’ve done the same for June and of course the numbers are fairly almost similar. It’s just that this time around because of the deportation and repatriation that is happening, the numbers just look like they were aggregated around a particular period. But if you look at the whole month effectively, the numbers are basically as we are used to process even in terms of the previous years.”
An update from the Commissioner of @TheBMA_SA Dr Michael Masiapato. pic.twitter.com/tcWsij173o
— The Border Management Authority SA (@TheBMA_SA) July 7, 2026
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