[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

Members of the media,
Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Allow me to welcome you all to this afternoon's media briefing, which for the first time is hosted by us, the Ministry for Intelligence Services. I have with me here some of my top management: the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Vusi Mavimbela, and the Acting Head of the Ministry, Mr. Dennis Nkosi. As you know, Mr. Mti has been appointed the new Commissioner of Correctional Services and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Mr. Jeff Maqetuka whom we appointed as the new Co-ordinator for Intelligence.

Mr. Maqethuka has been involved with intelligence work since the days of the liberation struggle. He was trained in the former East Germany and Angola, and served at various senior positions in the then Department of Intelligence and Security (DIS) of the ANC. In 1994, he was a key figure in the amalgamation process which resulted in the integration of the six intelligence services, from where the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the South African Secret Services (SASS) were established. In 1995, Mr. Maqetuka was appointed as the Deputy Director-General: Operations in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and as the Deputy Director-General of the South African Secret Service (SASS), where he has been working until his new appointment. With this background, I believe that, his appointment is well deserved, and that with his benefit of the experience of the various facets of intelligence, he would bring new insight into the task of co-ordinating intelligence within the country.

As you know, last week the Auditor-General (A-G) released his report to Parliament for the 1999 to 2001 financial year. As the A-G's report is an important indicator of what controls are in place regarding the management of the funds and resources that have been put at our disposal, we would like to briefly go over some of the issues that were raised by the report. Contrary to negative reports by the media last week, the A-G's report is "qualified" (notwithstanding uncontrollable audit uncertainty arising from the covert nature of the operations of the Services) based on adverse findings arising from the audit relating to the following:

* Lack of a proper movable assets register at the NIA; and
* The NIA exceeding it's allocated budget (by an amount which is not material in relation to the budget as a whole);

The report also includes concerns (expressed as "emphasis of matter") on:

* Inadequate internal controls over vehicle allowances at the NIA;
* Lack of a movable assets register at the SASS;
* The resolution of misconduct cases relating to alleged irregularities uncovered at three covert units - two repeated (primarily detected and reported by the NIA); and
* The write-off of un-resolvable accounts inherited by the SASS from the previous dispensation (uncontrollable and included as a routine reporting item).

Four of the themes commented on had previously been reported, indicating that the position had not deteriorated to any significant extent. And as at the date of this briefing, three of the eight distinct adverse matters above (controls over vehicle allowances, expenditure within the budget and the resolution of un-resolvable accounts inherited from the previous dispensation) have since been resolved/removed from future reports. The remaining items are likely to be resolved by the end of 2001.

In addressing outstanding matters, mechanisms to shorten and finalise the misconduct process have been introduced to resolve outstanding misconduct cases, and the assets registration process to address the lack of a register at both the NIA and the SASS is currently in progress and is at an advanced stage. With regard to outstanding cases of misconduct, four initiatives have been undertaken with the objective of introducing corrective measures. These are the building of internal capacity to hear and dispense with cases of misconduct; the re-deployment rather than suspension of members where their retention is not expected to interfere/compromise the misconduct process and perhaps most significantly; a move from a criminal based to a civil based misconduct process allowing for an easing of burden of proof on the part of the Services; and additional training and awareness of existing procedures in the management of covert structures/finances have been introduced to prevent a recurrence of reported weaknesses discovered in the management of covert structures.

Of significance, it is further noted that over a three-year period, nine of thirteen reporting items and four of five reporting items have been reported and resolved/corrected at the NIA and SASS respectively.

The concerns expressed by the A-G are taken seriously and form part of comprehensive response plans at both the levels of the Services and Ministry. These, whilst reacting to reported weaknesses on the one hand, also seek to proactively improve and enhance the quality of support systems within the Services. In the process human capacity has been increased, finance and audit functions elevated within the organizational structure and a new work ethic introduced over time.

Both the Ministry and the Services are engaged in these initiatives because we believe that there is no trade-off between secrecy and accountability. Our approach to good governance demonstrates our commitment in this regard!

Since the last week, we have been watching in horror and disbelief the unfolding of events in the United States (US) connected with the terror attacks.

As this drama unfolds, we understand what the American Intelligence Community is going through. We all realise now that one act of terror that succeeds can be so devastating - highlighting the challenge of intelligence. It also emphasizes the need to be nimble footed and to be on top of the situation. This tragedy has thrust the importance of intelligence into the public domain and has emphasised the need for all forms of intelligence - from sophisticated, technical to human sources.

All the successes the American Intelligence Community has had - all the planned tragedies they have foiled to date have been completely overshadowed by this incidence. From this we all realise that intelligence which is often castigated as evil, is actually a critical element of a nation's security.

On behalf of government, the President has already expressed condolences to the US government and offered humanitarian assistance. In the emergencies of this kind intelligence, however, is the first line of support that countries provide each other. This week, Cabinet therefore also offered this form of support to the US government.

The terrorist attacks in the US have brought opportunities for a re-focus on the methods of defence. The fight against terrorism has brought to the fore the need to re-energise and re-resource the Intelligence Community because the only way to fight terrorism is through an effective intelligence system. The needs of intelligence for more resources and funding need to be understood in this context. We therefore need more funding. It is interesting to note that the US's response to the attack has been to appoint a Cabinet Minister for Intelligence. We can count ourselves at an advantage because we already have this establishment. In not gainsaying what I have already pointed out about the need for the sufficient funding of intelligence, we also would need to be continuously on our toes, improve efficiency, improve our human base power and ask the South African civil society to join in partnership with us to ensure that we can adequately secure our country.

Our responsibility is the security of not only government institutions but of every citizen within the country. We would therefore like our people to understand that we are a resource put in place by the state to ensure their security. We would also like them to understand that our effectiveness is dependent on the co-operation that we have with them. Indeed, the success of any Intelligence Community depends on the confidence it can infuse in its people and in turn on the co-operation it gets.

As we indicated in June, we would go out to educate the public to enhance this co-operation. Our top priority in this regard is the private sector. We would like to strengthen our partnership with the private sector and would like them to know that they can call on us for the security assessment of their establishments. So far, we have made good progress in this regard and have established a very good working relationship with the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA).

We want to establish this relationship with all the entities of the private sector because; for example, the security of Century City, of Sun City, is a vulnerability of any citizen who is in the vicinity of these buildings and entities and therefore our concern. Lastly, the NIA is on a continuous basis involved in the evaluation of aviation security. In this regard, the agency also contributed in terms of policy formulation for the ACSA, and provided inputs to the Civil Aviation Authority.

We are pleased to report that already security audits are being conducted, flight security is being reviewed, measures in the public sector have been tightened and disaster management policies and infrastructure scrutinised. Our Intelligence Services and the security services in general have been at the forefront of this work.

We are confident about our capacity to deal with the problems posed by terrorism and other related actions. To date we are satisfied with the way we dealt with the recent threats against us. Urban terror in the Western Cape has been brought under control and there are a number of other examples.

The biggest of these threats were during the World Conference Against Racism, in Durban. Months before the conference the question that was on everyone's lip was: 'how would we be able to secure the conference? The spectre of demonstrations and violent protests in Seattle and Genoa hung over us as we prepared for what was certainly from our perspective, one of the most significant gatherings of the United Nations in history. Having assessed the threats that we had identified we took a conscious decision that the securing of both the country and the conference, would be at its optimal and that it would be intelligence-driven.

In both the preparations and the running of the conference, intelligence was placed at the centre of all the security forces, including the entire logistics of the conference.

I do not need to repeat that the conference was concluded without a slightest incident about the breach of security being reported, not even by the media. We were on top of the situation and take pride in the level of professionalism and commitment that was shown by our intelligence officers and managers.

The Services are presently getting ready to repeat this achievement in securing the upcoming UN Summit on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit) in September 2002, which will be held in Johannesburg. Indications presently are that the Summit would be much bigger than the conference in Durban. Even for this Summit, however, our people and our government can rest assured that we would come first in providing the required service.

Another threat that we had to deal with was in the last week, following the attacks on the US. A malicious hoax e-mail purported to link people within the country to the attacks in the US. The perpetrators of this form of economic terrorism were quickly identified and arrested. This shows the resolve of intelligence, in conjunction with the police, to protect the integrity of our country and its people. The dispatching of the malicious e-mail needs to be condemned for it shows a high degree of being unpatriotic.

In June, we had taken a vow that we would locate intelligence at the 'centre of government'. From what I have said to you so far, it is clear that this, indeed, is beginning to happen. I can therefore also inform you that the NIA is nearing the completion of a restructuring process that is aimed at ensuring that the agency effectively meets the needs of government. In developing a co-ordinated counter-intelligence strategy, the NIA has involved the South African Secret Services (SASS), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in setting up the Counter-intelligence Co-ordinating Centre (CICC).

A recruitment process to acquire new skills and knowledge in economics, information technology and telecommunications has also been started. And as we undertook in June, the restructuring of the Intelligence Academy (IA) is underway. Presently, the Services are in discussions with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) on the introduction of formal intelligence qualifications.

Regarding the establishment of a Presidential Intelligence Unit (PIU), the required processes are all in place, and we expect that the unit will start functioning in October. After I announced the formation of the unit in June, there was a considerable media interest in the setting up of the unit. The majority of the papers that reported on this unit totally misrepresented what we said were the intentions behind this unit. Whether that was deliberate, I do not know. I would like however to believe that those journalists who gave out incorrect information about the establishment of this unit who not repeat what they did in June. I want them to take this as an opportunity to clarify themselves of those aspects that they do not understand about the setting up of this unit.

The SASS too, is very active. Within the broad framework of the New Africa Initiative (NAI), its task entails advising and supporting government in its peace missions in both Africa and Southern Africa. It also is supporting the initiatives of government in resolving the economic and the stability crisis in Zimbabwe. Early this year, the SASS helped the SAPS and the Department of Justice to finalise the prosecution of a well-known Swaziland based narcotics kingpin. In addition, assistance was given to the South African Arms Control and Non-proliferation Structures. This involvement has helped recently to expose a fraudulent arms export transaction within our borders. The Intelligence Community is playing its role to help secure South Africans and the government to deliver on its mandate. In this undertaking, it is using the democratic space created including its institutions. Hence, the NIA participated in the recent public hearings on the Interception and Monitoring Bill, 2001. As the Ministry for Intelligence Services, we would like to provide a guarantee to the public that contrary to created perceptions that the Bill aims to make the infringement of the right to privacy legal, law enforcement agencies including the Intelligence Community, see the Bill as a mechanism to ensure that South Africans including their leaders and government, are sufficiently secured and protected. We would like the public; furthermore, to appreciate the fact that government is introducing the Bill at a time when advancements in technology are increasingly making it difficult to dispense with the function of security and protection.

There is ample legislation within the country, which guarantees against the infringement of the right to privacy. We also have the Constitution as the highest law of the land and to which the operations of the Services are made subject to. The Services, therefore, support the intention and the purpose of the Bill.

Lastly, our country stands at the epicentre of the motive forces for change and development in both Africa and the world. In this context, the Intelligence Community has consistently made an undertaking to provide advice and relevant information to government for the carrying out of its obligations and to meet its objectives. We take this opportunity to again re-iterate that commitment here. As the Intelligence Community, we are at the service of government and its people. This then means that at all times we would be where government needs and expects us to be.

Thank you.

Issued by: Ministry for Intelligence Services, 21 September 2001