Pretoria - The Department of Home Affairs is gearing for an influx of visitors into the country over the next few days as more than 11 000 approved delegates make their way to South Africa for COP17.
Despite large numbers expected to enter South Africa ahead of the climate change conference, the department is confident that there will be few hassles and says it is ready to welcome the delegates - including Heads of State and Governments - into the country.
Director-General Mkuseli Apleni said delegates had already started arriving and were being processed at ports of entry.
"So far a total of 271 delegates constituting part of the 11 810 approved delegates arrived in South Africa since Monday," he said.
Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has approved the deployment of extra immigration officials to all ports of entry to facilitate the movement of these delegates.
In Durban, the venue for the conference, an additional 56 immigration officials have been added to the existing complement, with more than 40 SAPS members trained and on standby should their services be required by the department.
In addition, the department, which has been in consultation with the UN agencies, has agreed to issue special visas at ports of entry to accredited delegates, who under normal circumstances would need a visa to enter South Africa, when they present their invitation from the UN.
The systems currently in place - such as the Movement Control System and the Advance Passenger Processing System - which are a legacy of last year's FIFA World Cup, would enable the country to facilitate the smooth entry and departure of delegates, Apleni added.
"Similarly, these systems will also enable the government and the country to bar any undesirable elements that appear on our database of prohibited persons that may seek to exploit the hosting of the UN Conference of Climate Change to enter the country for nefarious activities."
Apleni said the department would readily cooperate with other law enforcement agencies within the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster to deal with those attempted to undermine South Africa's security and immigration laws.
