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2016

Border operating hours extended for Easter

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Home Affairs will extend its operating hours at selected ports of entry to cater for the huge number of Easter weekend travellers.

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Pretoria – The home affairs department will extend its operating hours at selected ports of entry to cater for the huge number of travellers characteristic with the Easter holidays, director general Mkuseli Apleni said on Friday.

“The department will further deploy more personnel, and senior managers, to enhance service quality in this period, one of the busiest for us, with increased traveller volumes,” Apleni told reporters in Pretoria.

“We trust that by providing more hours, to facilitate movement of persons and goods, we will minimise the burden of long queues and undue delays while making travel pleasant.”

However, the success of interventions would hinge on people travelling gradually over the entire Easter period, and with drivers observing “religiously” all the rules of the road.

“The carnage on our roads is unacceptable. Over and above maiming lives of many, it serves further to deplete the state’s limited resources, more so, at a time when we all need to work together to grow South Africa,” said Apleni.

He said the interventions had the support of stakeholders, including religious leaders and pilgrims, particularly those heading for Moria, in Limpopo, and neighbouring countries.

“On behalf of the ministry and department of home affairs I would like to inform citizens, and other clients, that we are ready to receive all travellers in and out of South Africa, and we will do so with the highest levels of professionalism and efficiency,” said Apleni.

“We have appealed to all our officials, especially those at ports of entry, to do all in their power to deliver the most humane and high-quality service to all people. We wish all travellers a safe and most fulfilling Easter break.”

The extension of operating hours would kick-in from Friday to March 30.

South Africa has several 24-hour borders and ports of entry, including the busy Beitbridge border post which links the country to its northern neighbour Zimbabwe.

African News Agency

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