The Border Management Authority has ramped up its fight against corruption, dismissing 17 officials in the past three months for fraud and misconduct.

The authority took its anti-corruption campaign to OR Tambo International Airport on Friday, shifting focus from land borders to include airports and sea ports.

Campaign goes beyond land borders

BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato said the authority will no longer limit its efforts to land borders.

“We are bringing this campaign to our airports and, in the next quarter, we will be going to one of our sea ports, before returning to another airport,” he said.

The Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum, which the Special Investigating Unit chairs, held the quarterly campaign at the airport.

Masiapato said corruption does not discriminate by entry point.

“Our strategy must be as dynamic and integrated as the threats we face. This forum is our collective information-sharing platform, our coordinated investigative hub, and our shield for whistleblowers,” he said.

57 cases handled in three months

The BMA dealt with 57 labour and disciplinary cases in the last quarter. These involved internal control breaches, fraud, corruption and other misconduct.

Of these, 17 resulted in dismissals, two officials received final warnings, one official was suspended without pay, and two officials were acquitted because of insufficient evidence.

Another 33 cases remain in the disciplinary process. Most of these cases involve employees who worked at OR Tambo.

The Department of Home Affairs finalised 42 cases during the same period, involving gross misconduct, aiding and abetting, identity document fraud, and financial misconduct.

Families pay the price

Masiapato said he does not get joy from signing suspension or dismissal letters.

“Every time I sign those letters, it pains me, because it is not only the official who is going to suffer. It is his or her family that suffers the most,” he said.

He urged officials in the border and immigration sector to refrain from fraud and corruption.

“Protect your job, protect your family, and protect the integrity of this organisation. The consequences are simply not worth it,” he said.

SIU Acting Chief Operations Officer Zodwa Xesibe said corruption is not a victimless crime.

“When public money is stolen, diverted or improperly spent, somebody ultimately pays the price,” she said.

She said technology has transformed government operations but also created new opportunities for fraud and corruption.

ALSO READ: Border authority fires more than 50 immigration officers over corruption

Convicted official shares her story

Hlengiwe Khumalo, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for fraud, spoke at the campaign as a warning to others.

She worked at the South African Revenue Service when she committed the fraud.

“I was working well with a good salary, but unfortunately I got bad influence from friends and ended up committing fraud, and I ended up arrested,” she said.

Khumalo said her actions affected her children and parents badly. She did not have the courage to tell her parents what was happening.

She lost her cars and houses and had to pay back all the money she stole from SARS.

The campaign included a public signing of an anti-corruption pledge by participating leaders, talks with officials, testimonies from convicted offenders, and a presentation by the Hawks.

Home Affairs Director-General Tommy Makhode and representatives from other government institutions took part.

ALSO READ: OPINION | The tide is turning: why this anti-corruption drive feels different