On Monday 15 July, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni addressed members of parliament during the Budget Vote for the State Security Agency (SSA), stating that the SSA was in a “period of heightened need to protect our constitutional democracy.”
The SSA was “strengthened under the 6th administration” to enable effective fulfillment of its mandate, following calls for reform from the Zondo commission, which highlighted various weaknesses in the agency, such as its unlawful consolidation of domestic and foreign intelligence branches. This resulted in the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, which some have viewed with concern, but is aimed at addressing the SSA’s weaknesses, to “create organisational focus by splitting the domestic and foreign services to separate departments.”
The Bill was handed to President Cyril Ramaphosa on 16 May, and has yet to be signed into law, but Minister Nsthavheni stated that the SSA has “commenced with preparations for the full implementation of the amendments.” These preparations include the development of the National Security Strategy, which was created in consultation with the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) and approved by cabinet in the previous financial year. The National Security Strategy is intended to guide the SSA’s work and “approach to protection of national security and the promotion of national security interests.”
Minister Nshavheni intends to release the National Security Strategy in September 2024, “in accordance with the law and best practice.” The JSCI of the 6th administration had also worked with the SSA to finalise and gazette the “first ever regulations on the co-ordination of intelligence.” These regulations are intended to improve the sharing and co-ordination of intelligence to enable effective promotion and protection of national security.
Cabinet has reportedly approved the 2024/25 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which was prepared by the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) alongside the 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 7th administration has been established, a progress report of the implementation will be handed over. This will be followed by the release of the 2024/25 NIE in August 2024.
The Minister noted that there would likely concerns about the release of intelligence but added that “they are required by law to be released, it has just not been practiced in our country.”
Among the threats facing South Africa, Minister Ntshavheni listed organised crime, terrorism and “unregulated immigration,” calling the urgent need to strengthen borders. Organised criminal syndicates pose a much larger risk to “stability, development and national security”, with the Minister stating that these entities “masquerade as business forums and other development seeking forums.”
Climate change is viewed as a major threat to food and water security, with Minister Ntshavheni noting that it continues to threaten national security. “How the country and the world respond to this will have an impact on global security.”
The rising cyber threat facing South Africa has required the SSA to priorities specialised skills to enable “agility and proactive response.” To strengthen cyber security, the Minister reported that the SSA was “hard at work building and strengthening our capability and capacity to proactively combat emerging cyber threats.” The implementation of the National Cyber Security Policy Framework would be accelerated in this regard, along with recapacitating of the National Communication Centre. Minister Ntshavheni promised to commence with the legislative process for the Cyber Security Bill before the end of the financial year.
Referring to data as “the new gold,” the Minister revealed that the National Intelligence Academy is considering the possibility of establishment of a data institute, aiming to not only serve the intelligence community but “broader society.”
One aspect missing from the Minister’s budget speech was details regarding the size of the SSA’s budget. This information is typically classified but the Minister noted that there has been a 10% decline in the budgetary baseline for 2024/25. Furthermore, it was noted that this decrease has been continuous since the 2021/22 financial year, but the department “[remained] committed to work within the allocation of current resources and leverage.”
The department remained further committed to addressing corruption, with the Minister stating they would “continue to work with the Hawks to make sure that those who have defrauded the SSA or conducted inferus [sic] and illicit and illegal operations within the environment are taken to task.”