Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday paid a visit to one of the country’s busiest border gates Kopfontein, to assess its readiness to process people and goods over the festive season.
The Kopfontein border post is situated in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality near Zeerust in the North West.
It is a major port of entry between South Africa and Botswana.
The Minster’s visit to Kopfontein emphasised the importance of ensuring a smooth facilitation of movement of people, goods and services and road safety. It also highlighted the importance of elevating service delivery levels in the interest of stimulating trade and tourism.
The Minister was accompanied by Ramotshere Moiloa local municipality Speaker, Councillor Alfred Nyamane.
In a statement ahead of the visit, the Home Affairs Department said the Kopftein border is expected to experience an influx of travellers over the festive season.
In anticipation of this, the department deployed 400 additional immigration staff earlier this month.
During his visit Motsoaledi interacted with a frequent user of the Kopfontein border and traveller, Pearl Maswabi who told the Minister that the port of entry needs shelter for hot and rainy days.
According to the Home Affairs Department, Kopfontein is one of the six ports of entry earmarked for infrastructure redevelopment.-SAnews.gov.za