Speaking at the border post on Saturday, Masiapato confirmed that traffic flows were already rising, with the busiest period expected within the next 24 hours as holidaymakers return to work and schools prepare to reopen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did expect that people would start coming mainly today, and we are also expecting the highest numbers by tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people will be returning to workplaces from Monday, and on that basis we are seeing the movement picking up.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the BMA, about 11 000 travellers were processed on January 1, with numbers rising to around 12 000 the following day. Officials anticipate that crossings could reach approximately 18 000 travellers as return traffic peaks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masiapato outlined how operations at Beitbridge have been structured to manage the surge. Passenger buses and taxis are being processed in designated areas near the main terminal, while small private vehicles are routed through the Manika bypass. Freight trucks continue to be handled separately to avoid congestion and delays.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is going well. We are very much ready to handle the numbers as they come,\u201d he said, adding that staffing levels, processing points and traffic flow plans had been adjusted to accommodate the expected influx.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reflecting on challenges experienced at other border posts during the festive period, Masiapato referred to the activation of manual processing at the Lebombo Port of Entry on Christmas Day. He explained that the decision was taken to prevent agitation and possible safety risks as queues built up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was an exceptional situation on Christmas Day, when people were becoming restless, and there was a risk of serious disorder,\u201d he said. \u201cHere at Beitbridge, we do not foresee that kind of challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Border Management Authority maintains that current infrastructure and operational measures at Beitbridge are sufficient to ensure orderly processing, minimise waiting times and maintain safety as thousands of travellers make their way back into SA over the coming days.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12958,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-21917","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa's (SA) Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, Dr Mike Masiapato, has expressed confidence that authorities are ready to manage a sharp increase in traveller volumes at the Beitbridge Port of Entry as the 2025\/2026 festive season plan draws to a close.","published_date":null,"news_description":"South Africa's (SA) Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, Dr Mike Masiapato, has expressed confidence that authorities are ready to manage a sharp increase in traveller volumes at the Beitbridge Port of Entry as the 2025\/2026 festive season plan draws to a close.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25400,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21917\/revisions\/25400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=21917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}