Call to put brakes on permitless bus operators
· Citizen
Chair of the Africa Unite Border Buses and Trucks Association Phumudzo Mukhwathi has lashed out at the state-owned Cross-Border Road Transport Authority (C-BRTA) for allowing permitless foreign bus operators to ferry undocumented migrants into SA for decades.
Mukhwathi also demanded C-BRTA enforcement head Simon Ditshego be charged criminally for allegedly failing to prevent unauthorised bus operators from bringing undocumented migrants into the country.
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C-BRTA failed to stop permitless foreign bus operators
He cited cases last year where many bus operators were intercepted by Limpopo provincial transport department officials and the Bloemfontein traffic officers entering the country without valid permits while carrying large numbers of undocumented migrants.
The Border Management Authority intercepted at least 25 unauthorised foreigner-operated buses in 2023, carrying undocumented people across the border.
This is in addition to a case where former home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi intercepted foreigner-operated buses filled with undocumented migrants on their way into SA. He participated in a police operation to prevent illegal crossings by migrants.
The bus operators violated Section 30 of the C-BRTA Act No 4 of 1998, Mukhwathi said.
“We are calling for South Africans to organise a peaceful protest march to hold C-BRTA and the border gate official accountable for failing to prevent illegal bus operators for decades from bringing undocumented immigrants into the country, which has led to instability and overpopulation in South Africa.
Africa Unite Border Buses calls for protest
“For decades, these bus operators crossed into South Africa with illegal foreigners.
“We are disappointed that, under Ditshego’s leadership, nothing has been done to stop this corruption. We want consequences,” Mukhwathi said.
He also blamed Ditshego for failing to prevent the mushrooming of bus ranks in the country, particularly in the Joburg CBD, as someone responsible for cross-border transport law enforcement.
During the ongoing repatriation of undocumented foreign migrants, permitless foreign bus operators were allowed to carry migrants to the Musina repatriation centre, while local bus operators from Durban and Cape Town were ordered to first apply for immediate permits at Beitbridge border post in Musina, Mukhwathi said.
Ditshego defended the decision, saying neighbouring Southern African Development Community states had arranged for foreign bus operators to ferry their citizens to the Musina repatriation centre, from which they were moved to their respective home countries.
Association says Ditshego ignored mushrooming Joburg ranks
“There are local bus operators in South Africa who can transport the repatriation migrants from Cape Town and Durban to Musina and to Malawi and Zimbabwe,” Mukhwathi said.
Some officials at the border post and en route often forced them to pay R2 500 spot fines for their vehicles, he added.
Most of those affected were South African bus operators because they could not afford to pay, while the foreign drivers had budgets set aside for fines.