Minister in the Presidency responsible for the State Security Agency (SSA) Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says they were confident the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, known as the Spy Bill, will be able to establish the foreign branch and domestic branch of the agency.
The bill has proposed the establishment of the South African Intelligence Service and the SA Intelligence Agency.
Ntshavheni said they were also aware of comments made during public hearings, but some of them will not be addressed through the Bill. Some of the comments can be addressed through regulations.
The minister was on Thursday briefing the ad hoc committee on the bill, following submissions by various parties during public hearings.
She also said the bill will address recommendations and findings of the High-Level Review Panel that was chaired by Sydney Mufamadi.
The report by Mufamadi had made damning findings against the SSA.
Ntshavheni said they believe they will be able to split the agency into a foreign branch and a domestic branch.
“We remind ourselves that the main objective of the bill is to establish SSA and establish two services, which are the domestic service and the foreign service. If you recall, we once made a mistake in the past of establishing SSA through a proclamation, instead of establishing SSA through the Act, as required by law,” said Ntshavheni.
“We are confident that the two services will be able to be established through the law. We are fully aware that the work you are doing contributes in assisting us to implement the recommendations of the High-Level Panel, and to also address the Constitutional Court ruling on the interception.”
She said from the public hearings that were conducted across the country, communities they were aware of concerns raised.
However, in some of the public hearings, members of the public raised concerns about crime and other social issues.
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