20 Dec 2020

 In the next three years government shall upgrade seven borders to be one stop border posts to improve ease of doing business, says director of Department of Immigration and Citizenship Ms Caroline Okello-Wengi.  

Ms Okello-Wengi said so when addressing immigration staff during a three-day tour of border facilities in Kgalagadi South recently. She was accompanying permanent secretary Dr Themba Mmusi and senior ministry officials. 

The objective of the tour, which  began on Wednesday and ended on Friday, was to appreciate challenges on the ground and find solutions to ensure effective service delivery.

She said the Ministry of Nationality Immigration and Gender Affairs continued to decentralise its services and upgrade services at border posts. 

The seven border posts to be upgraded to one stop service are Ramatlabama, Pioneer Gate, Tlokweng, Martin’s Drift, Ramokgwebana, Kazungula Ferry and Mamuno. 

She said the development promoted a coordinated and integrated approach to movement of goods and people hence would improve ease of doing business.

Once completed, Ms Okello-Wengi said, the seven one stop border posts would shorten time of vehicle and goods clearance, facilitate trade, ease of movement of people, improved security and quality controls.

 Furthermore, she noted, the development would reduce logistic costs, as there would be simplified and harmonised procedures.

The Immigration director highlighted that for a one stop border post to achieve intended results its management would be pegged at D2 level. 

Meanwhile, management positions at regional offices would remain as they were in terms of ranking while one stop border posts would be above regionals.

 Currently, she said the department was undergoing transition therefore it was critical to ensure that every detail was followed to the latter for effective execution.

She appreciated immigration officers working in remote areas for their good service delivery despite being faced with resource constraints, shortage of accommodation and limited office space.

 The challenges, she said were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic which had drastically affected the budget. Nonetheless, she encouraged them to continue to soldier-on using limited resources to bring out good results thus maximising and optimising on the small budget.

For his part, Dr Mmusi said one stop border posts required adequate staffing, noting that the newly completed one stop border post at Kazungula Bridge would require 123 officers to function effectively.

Therefore, he said it was critical to transform the way business was conducted to improve efficiency. 

He encouraged the employees to have strong industrial relations to be able to deliver accordingly and meet the demanding standards. 

The permanent secretary emphasised that delivery was also incumbent upon fair and bold management of staff welfare issues to enable employees to assert themselves at all times and deliver the mandate of the ministry effectively.

Dr Mmusi noted that accommodation and office space was a challenge across the civil service hence these must also be addressed accordingly. Furthermore, he encouraged employees to be forth coming when faced with challenges and offer constructive criticism. 

He said the ministry would address  issues of over staying in one work station. Furthermore, he said measures would be put in place to ensure that married couples stayed together.

Dr Mmusi said employees in remote areas worked under challenging situations hence resources including protective clothing must be availed to enable them to serve effectively. 

He encouraged them to do their part and aim to improve service at all times.The delegation also visited McCathy’s Rust, Middlepits, Bokspits and Two Rivers border posts. ends