A revamp of the security cluster is likely as the administration of President Jacob Zuma moves to restructure the police and the intelligence services to step up the war on crime.
Crime researcher Jenny Irish-Qhobosheane will be the new secretary of police to advise Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and monitor the work of the SAPS.
It is not clear whether the police secretariat will reclaim its once-powerful role in the police, a role that was drastically reduced by former safety and security minister Steve Tshwete after 1999.
Previously, the secretary enjoyed the same rank as the national police commissioner, but the status of the position was downgraded to that of a deputy director-general.
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It is understood that the political bosses now want to boost the role of civilian oversight over the police.
As secretary of police, Irish-Qhobosheane would head the SAPS secretariat, which consists of provincial secretaries.
However, it has been learnt that the police department's budget - which had been handled by the secretariat after 1994 - will remain under the control of National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele.
Cele, as the accounting officer, is set to appoint a chief operating officer to handle the financial and administrative side while he concentrates on the political and public relations side of the police.
Irish-Qhobosheane comes with a wealth of experience, having worked for SA Institute of International Affairs and Business Against Crime. She also wrote a book on organised crime networks in the country.
Changes are also imminent in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), as the contract of director-general Manala Manzini expires at the end of this month.
The Presidency and Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele are keeping mum about who will be the new spy boss.
There is speculation that NIA deputy director-general Arthur Fraser is likely to succeed Manzini.
A source said, however, that Fraser's possible appointment would be seen as controversial.
The Mail & Guardian reported a few months ago that it was Fraser who leaked the tapes to Zuma's lawyers of the secret recordings of conversations between former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy and former national prosecutions chief Bulelani Ngcuka that led to the dropping of charges against Zuma.
While Fraser - the brother of former public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi - never disputed the allegations, Zuma's lawyer, Michael Hulley, denied them.
The task of appointing the head of the NIA falls to the president.
"I don't think they'll appoint him (Fraser) because it would raise a lot of eyebrows.
"But Cwele is playing his cards close to his chest," said the source.
A source in the Department of State Security said there had been talk about a need to review the structure of the intelligence community.
This comes after an independent review of the NIA found that the agency's mandate was too broad and that there was a need for improved oversight to prevent abuses.
Former NIA boss Billy Masetlha was fired by Thabo Mbeki, the president at the time, after being implicated in the illegal surveillance of former ANC heavyweight Saki Macozoma. He was vindicated after a court challenge.
The leaking of the NIA tapes on Zuma also prompted a strong reaction from civil society and opposition parties.
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