South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs is preparing to implement changes to its visa regulations which will include the introduction of biometric scanning at certain border posts, the government has announced. Its current aim is to have the new systems in place by the end of January.

The biometric scanning would be introduced in pilot projects at three of the country’s major airports: Cape Town International Airport, Durban’s King Shaka International Airport, and OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. While other airports around the world have introduced biometric scanning as anefficiency and convenience measure as much as a security tool, South Africa’s government-mandated scanning is clearly intended as a security measure first and foremost. Announcing the change, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba suggested that biometric screening will “afford better measures to keep South Africans and those within the republic safer from the evils that evidently exist globally.”

It’s a concern increasingly being echoed around the world, and particularly in Europe as the region’s political leaders seek security against perceived threats associated with terrorism and an ongoing refugee crisis. South Africa’s government hasn’t yet announced any specific details regarding modalities to be used, but it seems fair to expect the facial recognition and perhaps fingerprint scanning currently popular in other such systems around the world.

Source: eNews Channel Africa

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November 26, 2015 – by Alex Perala