BMA Operating With 2,146 Officers as 75% of Posts Remain Vacant, Home Affairs Confirms

South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) is operating with 2,146 officers across its four regions, while a 75% vacancy rate continues to undermine its capacity, according to a written parliamentary reply by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.

The figures were provided in response to questions from African Transformation Movement (ATM) Member of Parliament Thandiswa Linnen Marawu, who sought information about staffing levels at border posts, the adequacy of personnel and whether officers had the necessary tools to combat corruption.

TheREAD MORE

Two Lesotho nationals have been sentenced to a combined 27 years in prison for murdering fellow countrymen in separate incidents in the North West and Northern Cape.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) secured a 12-year direct imprisonment sentence against 23-year-old Tshepo Nkhope in Koster, North West, for murdering a man who had visited his residence looking for his girlfriend.

In a separate case, Phosholi Peete was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment for stabbing fellow Lesotho national Thabo Rakeketsi toREAD MORE

Banyana Banyana are heading into a defining November showdown in Morocco, with Chinese Taipei, Ecuador and Uzbekistan standing between South Africa and the next step towards the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Head coach Dr Desiree Ellis has named her 23-player squad for the high-stakes play-off tournament, knowing that there is little room for error as the African champions fight to keep their World Cup ambitions alive.

The tournament, which runs from 28 November to 5 December atREAD MORE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) must turn its strong local election showing into a stable Johannesburg administration, with mayoral candidate Helen Zille saying the city’s finances must be repaired before residents can expect service improvements.

The DA secured the most votes in five of the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities, but won an outright majority only in Cape Town. In Johannesburg, the party emerged in first place without a majority, leaving it dependent on negotiations with other parties to form a government.READ MORE

A senior Department of Justice and Constitutional Development official stationed at the Office of the Master of the High Court in Polokwane allegedly had a corrupt relationship with suspended attorney Charlotte Tibana, with the State accusing him of referring beneficiaries of deceased estates to her law firm in exchange for money.

The explosive allegations emerged at the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where estate controller Gustavus Mokoana Moloto made a brief appearance alongside Tibana on gratification charges relating to allegedREAD MORE

More than three years after political activist and former politician Loyiso Nkohla was gunned down in front of community members in Philippi, Cape Town, the man who pulled the trigger will spend the next 30 years behind bars.

For his wife, Nyameka Mabandla, April 17, 2023, remains a painful reminder of how a decision by her husband to persuade her to stay away from a community meeting ultimately saved her life, while he was brutally murdered in a hail ofREAD MORE

The approval of salary increases for politicians and other public office-bearers has sparked a fierce reaction from the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU), which has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of being insensitive to the economic hardships confronting millions of South Africans.

The union’s criticism comes as the country’s unemployment rate has climbed to 33.7%, with another 70,000 job seekers becoming discouraged and leaving the labour force in the third quarter of 2026.

On Tuesday, NEHAWU said itREAD MORE

An employee of the Office of the Master of the High Court is expected to appear before the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following his arrest in connection with an alleged R11 million fraud involving 15 deceased estates.

The Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team, working alongside the SAPS Provincial Tactical Response Team, arrested the 53-year-old official, who works as an estate controller, on Tuesday.

His arrest marks a significant development in the widening investigation, which has already seen suspendedREAD MORE

The Department of Home Affairs has launched the first phase of a new Digital Asylum System aimed at reducing lengthy processing delays, clearing decades-old backlogs and tightening controls against the abuse of South Africa’s asylum process.

The online platform, which is currently being tested, will allow individuals seeking asylum to register their intention to apply digitally by submitting personal information, facial biometrics and supporting documents.

The department said public registration would begin after its next scheduled software release this comingREAD MORE

Former president Thabo Mbeki has thrown his weight behind calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down, saying his resignation would be an appropriate response if reports that he had offered to leave office were true.

Mbeki has also questioned the continued leadership of the ANC’s Top Seven, suggesting that the party’s senior leadership should consider resigning and take responsibility for what he described as a catastrophic period for the organisation and the country.

The Top Seven leaders are Ramaphosa,READ MORE