The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has denied entry to approximately 115 people into SA for the World Cup, with the help of its monitoring systems.
Deputy minister Malusi Gigaba said at a home affairs World Cup briefing that the movement of travellers is being monitored through a 24-hour operational centre that oversees the Movement Control System (MCS), the Advanced Passenger Processing (APP) system and the Airline Liaison Officers (ALO).
“Through the department's Immigration Services, we have prioritised 34 ports of entry for daily monitoring, the provision of early warning signals and the implementation of contingency planning for the Fifa 2010 World Cup.”
Successful gatekeeping
Gigaba said the success of the MCS, which is linked to SARS and law enforcement agencies, has been evident since the beginning of the World Cup.
“The impact of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, with regard to the increase in the number of foreign travellers to the country, is clearly evident from information obtained through the MCS reports.”
He said the system recorded the arrival of 456 423 foreigners into the country during the period 1-13 June.
During the same period, 6 933 contraventions were identified by the system, including individuals overstaying in terms of their entry conditions, penalties for temporary residence permit abuses, and occurrences where a passport was flagged as lost/stolen.
Unwanted guests
The APP system, which allows the department to bar undesirable elements (for example soccer hooligans and paedophiles) from entering SA before boarding from various countries, became operational in November, according to Gigaba.
security agencies.”
Between 1 and 13 June, 21 hits were recorded through the APP and these travellers were denied permission to board due to their travel documents being non-compliant with immigration requirements including visas, expired travel documents and being placed on the Visa and Entry Stop List.
“In the same period, a total of 282 176 travellers boarded flights utilising the APP. Through the APP, we were able track down, intercept and subsequently deport an English and 14 other Argentinean soccer hooligans. The Argentinean soccer hooligans subsequently attempted to enter our country travelling through Angola. Again, our efficient MCS was able to block their entry into SA,” said Gigaba.
He added that, through the deployment of ALO, a further 79 travellers were prevented from boarding flights to SA.
E-passports ahead
The R129 million MCS system was launched at OR Tambo International Airport, by home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
The technology is designed to track and document the secure movements of travellers across SA.
Jackson McKay, deputy director-general responsible for immigration at home affairs, explained that the system is designed to provide real-time information and statistics about who has entered the country, who is staying in the country - for how long and for what purpose - as well as who has left the country.
He added that its real-time integrated functionality differentiates it from the old system. The system will update all travellers' information, regardless of the type of passport presented upon entry into the country. It would communicate that information to all other points of entry across the country in real-time, he explained.
McKay highlights the security features of the system, which has been designed to also act as an early warning to track visitors who overstay in the country following the World Cup.
The system will also assist in law enforcement, as well as the prevention of criminal and illicit activities, by integrating with Interpol databases and the South African police service systems.
Dlamini-Zuma noted that, with the necessary infrastructure in place, the MCS would be a stepping stone towards SA's e-passport preparation.
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