It is a well-known fact that counterfeit and illicit goods trade
is causing an immeasurable harm to an already struggling South
African economy. In 2019, his excellence President Cyril Ramaphosa
in particular acknowledged the severe negative impact that this
phenomenon has on the local economy and pledged that government
would do more in an attempt to address the importation and
smuggling of counterfeit and illicit goods into the country.
In this regard, in 2020 and in an attempt to create a more
efficient process for overall border control and reduce the
corruption element, the Border Management Authority
("BMA") Act was signed into law. The BMA seeks to
eradicate several challenges currently experienced within the
border management environment due to the existing fragment model
and provide a single authority to oversee all forms of border
management control. The BMA model will be implemented at land, air
and seaports of entry. The proposed BMA model is expected to