context
19 June 2007
In his budget speech of 23 June 2004, the Minister for Intelligence
Services, Mr Ronnie Kasrils, identified the improvement of government's vetting
capability as a priority. Listed as one of ten priorities identified for
Intelligence, it has since received the necessary attention with a view to
developing a strategy to deal with the vetting demand and adhering to the
National Intelligence Agency's mandate as set out in the National Intelligence
Strategic Act (Act 39 of 1994).
Recent media reports regarding NIA's Vetting Strategy may have created a
distorted view of the strategy and its rollout. It is therefore important that
this strategy and its implementation be viewed in context, taking into account
the relevant facts and processes.
The vetting of South African government officials has always been a
requirement and is also standard practice around the world. However, as a
result of the volume of civil servants that needed to be vetted, NIA has over
the years found it difficult to meet the demand for vetting due to its capacity
constraints.
In order to address this weakness, a new Vetting Strategy was developed and
approved by Cabinet.
The Vetting Strategy has three main elements:
* Firstly, the establishment of Vetting Field Units in major government
departments to deal with the vetting of their own personnel. These Departmental
Units will employ vetting officers from such governmental departments who will
be trained by NIA to do security vetting. NIA, in terms of its mandate as the
only agency which can issue security clearances, will continue to supervise the
process and issue these security clearances.
* Secondly, NIA will expand its own vetting capacity over the next four
years to give support to the Vetting Field Units and to handle other government
requirements.
* Thirdly, improved technological support is being developed to expedite the
security clearance process through increased automation.
The timeframe for implementing the strategy is four years. During this
period additional staff will be appointed at NIA and the 17 largest government
departments to effectively deal with the demands in terms of vetting.
The advantages of this improved vetting capacity and process within NIA and
government include countering the risk of government officials becoming the
target of acts of espionage, corruption and a range of other criminal and
unconstitutional activities.
All relevant processes were followed to approve the Vetting Strategy. It was
presented to the relevant governmental forums and the Joint Standing Committee
on Intelligence (JSCI) before being approved by Cabinet in November 2006.
Issued on behalf of the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency
by the Minister for Intelligence Services.
Contact Person
Ms Lorna Daniels
Cell: 082 418 3389
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
19 June 2007
Source: SAPA
