Borders and their control has become one of the most hotly debated issues around the world over the last few years. Immigration concerns led to the two major political events of 2016, BREXIT and Donald Trump becoming president of the USA. While here at home there have been no calls to “Build the wall!” it seems that in some areas a little bit of wall building might actually be in order.
Former Proteas player Pat Symcox has recently been on holiday in Limpopo, he took to Facebook to upload a video that shows he clearly hasn’t been enjoying ALL of his holiday. Symcox got a first-hand look at part of the South Africa/ Zimbabwe border (just down from the post itself) he labelled what he saw a “national disgrace.”
In the video Symcox expresses his disbelief at the state of the fence on the South African side of the border, he thought this is where he would find the “big fences,” clearly he was mistaken. The former cricketer turns the camera on the state of the collapsed bit of razor wire fence, he points out how most of it has in fact been stolen.
“If you wanna bring something across the border… It’s wide open! My goodness, how are we ever going to police things like cigarette stealing, motorcar stealing, it’s impossible! It’s crazy! How is that gona ever work and who is going to pay for it, crazy!”
Reports show that in terms of documented immigrants in SA, Zimbabweans make up the vast majority. In 2013 alone 108 711 temporary and permanent residence permits were issued to Zimbabweans. As for “official” data on cross-border crime and illegal immigration, those stats are a lot less corroborated.
To see the border for yourself be sure to check out Symcox’s video below.