South Africa To Launch Facial Recognition At Borders

The head of South Africa’s Border Management Authority, Commissioner Mike Masiapato, says Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber will launch a new border management system. The system is part of wider efforts to tackle illegal migration, passport fraud and corruption at ports of entry.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Masiapato said the high-tech system will use facial recognition and electronic checks to verify travellers. The aim is to strengthen border security and spot undocumented people more easily.

“The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Schreiber, will, as we go forward in the year, ultimately launch the EMCS 2.0,” he said.

“That is going to be the new system deployed at ports, which is going to use cameras for the basis of what we call facial recognition, to enable people to come through the country through electronic means and no longer just depending on passports.

“That is going to assist us in dealing with issues relating to passport utilisation, passport abuse, and the rest of the other issues regarding illegal migration in that particular instance.”

Masiapato also said the BMA is already using drones to watch the country’s borders day and night.

He added that the agency plans to use more body-worn cameras to reduce corruption at the borders.

“The issues relating to bodycams, we are looking at increasing the number so that we can be able to ensure that we also deal with that particular aspect in terms of ensuring that those within port who will attempt to be compromised by people without documentation will have to be effectively caught,” he said.

“So that we don’t deal with challenges in port and out of port. We need to be able to ensure that in port, we have a completely sanitised environment so that we can deal with possible corrupt activities.”

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