Mmusi Maimane DA LAND EXPROPRIATION LAND CAP

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – APRIL 07: Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane ahead of the party’s Federal Alliance Congress at the Tshwane Events Centre on April 07, 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. DA leader Mmusi Maimane and his supporters were reportedly dealt a major blow when they were forced to withdraw constitutional amendments to strengthen his grip on power. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Alon Skuy)

Maimane calls on government to deploy army on SA borders to reduce crime

The DA leader was speaking at the Ramatlabama border post in the North West.

Mmusi Maimane DA LAND EXPROPRIATION LAND CAP

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – APRIL 07: Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane ahead of the party’s Federal Alliance Congress at the Tshwane Events Centre on April 07, 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. DA leader Mmusi Maimane and his supporters were reportedly dealt a major blow when they were forced to withdraw constitutional amendments to strengthen his grip on power. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Alon Skuy)

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Mmusi Maimane has proposed securing South Africa’s borders as a solution to the country’s ongoing crime problem.

He was visiting the Ramatlabama border post in the North West, where he called on South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to be deployed at the countries borders in order to tackle the issue of cross-border crime.

“Our offer is that it must not just be police here,” Maimane said.

“We need the South African National Defence Force to ensure that ultimately, border control is in place. As it stands in South Africa, there’s more VIP security for politicians than there are for citizens.”

The Ramatlama border post separates South Africa from Botswana and has seen a scourge of cross-border crimes, ranging from drug trafficking to stock theft.

There have been reports of farmers from Botswana falling victim to cattle rustling, with the perpetrators apprehended in the North West.

According to Maimane, police in the province have also reported increased drug activity.


Two years ago, officials arrested two foreign nationals at the Kopfontein border post near Zeerust for drug smuggling after a truck was found to have been transporting drugs with a value of around R80 million into South Africa.

“A big part of the problem is that our borders are so easy to cross illegally,” Maimane said.

Maimane added that stricter border security will go some way towards rooting out corruption, and recommended harsher sentences for those found guilty.

Read: “Mabuza should be in prison, not Deputy President” – Maimane