launch of the provincial Security Managers Forum, Wigwam Hotel,
Rustenburg
14 September 2006
Programme Director
The Executive Mayor of the Bojanala Platinum District
Mayors and Councillors
Interim Chairperson of the Security Managers Forum, Mr Thuso Assegai
Security and MISS Managers in the Provincial Administration
Managers from the national Departments of Justice and Home Affairs
Representatives from municipalities and State-Owned Entities
Managers, Commanders and Members of our law enforcement agencies
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is my distinguished honour to address this highly important gathering of
our security managers at this launch of the provincial Security Managers Forum
under the theme "Age of Hope: Deepening and consolidating safety through
security".
Let me begin by telling you a story about one security manager. This manager
was so ashamed of his job that he would whisper the answer every time he was
asked what he did for a living.
"What do you do for a living?" people would ask him. "I am a mis-manager in
government" he would shyly reply. People then assumed that he was mismanaging
all sorts of things in government and worse, he was getting paid for it.
What our shy manager really meant to say was that he was a Minimum
Information Security Standards (MISS) manager in the provincial government and
that this was a highly classified job in government that needed a lot of skill,
loyalty, discretion and dedication to the province, the country and the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
What I am saying is that I am very delighted to be among people who spend
most of their time including very awkward hours protecting government leaders,
employees, property, information and visitors.
I want to tell you from the outset that you need not be shy but be full of
pride about the job you do of creating and maintaining an eternal risk-free as
well as crime-free environment for our province and its citizens. It is a hard
and sometimes thankless job. I want to further assure you that the democracy
and freedom that are now entrenched in our Constitution rest squarely upon the
shoulders of the men and women that are gathered here.
Among other things, you who are gathered here would know that in terms of
the National Strategic Intelligence Act of 1994, it is one of the functions of
the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC) to co-ordinate and
prioritise intelligence activities within the national intelligence
structures.
More than anybody else, you who are gathered here would know that certain
functional areas of intelligence include the Functional Security Committee
(FSC) under whose auspices fall another sub-committee which is called the
Security Managers Forum, whose provincial chapter we are launching today.
I emphasise this constitutional basis of your work to illustrate the point
that the work that you do is indispensable to our democracy and freedom and
that without it, seeds of anarchy would easily be planted in our society. We
therefore hold in high esteem the work in which you are engaged.
Following the first annual general meeting of this forum held in Limpopo
last year, at which the national Security Managers Forum was launched and its
Constitution adopted, we are delighted that today we are launching our own
provincial Security Managers Forum.
Certainly over the next couple of days, your hands will be full, discussing
such matters as mandated by that Constitution and the imperatives of our
provincial security.
In particular, this provincial forum must discuss and formulate standards
for effective implementation of counter measures that would be relevant to all
provincial departments. It must co-ordinate the implementation of standardised
counter measures, security policy and directives in a standardised manner
throughout the province and its parasitical environment.
In addition, this forum must guide the formulation of a provincial security
policy by the intelligence community in line with national policy and ensuring
relevance to the North West province particularly.
I am also certain that it is within the powers and mandate of this forum to
establish a standardised and formal reporting channel, if it has not been
established already, whereby incidents reflecting the manifestation of any
threats can be reported within the client environment as well as to the law
enforcement and intelligence services.
I would like to further challenge this gathering to ensure that people have
the necessary security clearance and that they are properly vetted. I am very
concerned about the recurring incidents of leakages of sensitive government
information that might put both the province and our country at great security
risk.
In conclusion, I would to appeal to all the men and women gathered here to
assist us in the broader task of building safer communities. Together, we must
intensify all our campaigns and programmes aimed at building safe, supportive
and moral communities.
In the fight against corruption, we count this forum as very important
partners of government and our people. We therefore welcome the fact that the
anti-corruption function has been located within our security unit in the
office of the Premier.
I have therefore no doubt in my mind that the launch of this provincial
Security Managers Forum will enable the provincial administration to operate in
a more security-conscious and co-ordinated fashion as well as monitor and
ensure compliance with our Minimum Information Security Standards within the
structures of government, including state-owned entities.
Thus, to be a MISS manager in government is to have a critically important
responsibility without which our democratic state will cease to function. There
is no reason to be ashamed of being a MISS manager!
I remain confident that, working together with our municipalities,
state-owned entities and the entire security client environment, our provincial
Security Managers Forum will triumph in the execution of its obligation to the
province and people of North West.
May I now exercise the honour you have bestowed upon me of officially
launching the provincial Security Managers Forum.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
14 September 2006
