“The process to establish the new South African Intelligence Service (Foreign Service) and South African Intelligence Agency (Domestic Service) is well under way,” says Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, in a response to a question posed by Nicholas George Myburgh, Member of Parliament for the Democratic Alliance.

George had asked Minister Nshavheni which steps had been taken “taken to reverse the amalgamation,” of the State Security Agency (SSA). The question was based on the findings by Health Literacy Research and Practice into the SSA in 2018, which stated “the amalgamation of National Intelligence Agency and South African Secret Service into the SSA did not achieve its purported objectives and was contrary to existing policy.”

In her response, Minister Nshavheni noted the “process to amend the laws is done through the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, which has been passed by parliament namely the National Assembly and is now awaiting the President to sign the Bill into law.”

Further, she reiterated the Government’s full commitment to “the process of reversing the amalgamation.”

“The Agency, through the GILAB Implementation Task Team, have already developed a high-level structural design of both the South African Intelligence Service (Foreign Service) and South African Intelligence Agency (Domestic Service). Once the Bill is enacted into legislation, the President will appoint the Directors-General of the two new Departments, who may further refine the proposed structures and make determinations on the priority areas for capacitation taking into consideration budgetary implications,” said Minister Nshavheni.

On 15 July 2024, Minister Nshavheni announced during the SSA Budget Vote, that she intended to release the National Security Strategy in September 2024, “in accordance with the law and best practice.”

Cabinet had further reportedly approved the 2024/25 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which was prepared by the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) alongside the Joints Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI). The NIE “provides an analysis of the prevailing threats to national security and [classifies] them according to severity and priority for implementation.” Minister Ntshavheni stated that once the JSCI of the 7^th administration had been established, a progress report of the implementation would be handed over and followed by the release of the 2024/25 NIE in August 2024.

However, as of 22 October 2024, neither the NIE or the National Security Strategy have been released.