The department of intelligent services has announced the setting up of a classification and de-classification review committee to manage and protect information.

The review committee is part of a follow up to an announcement made by Intelligence Services Minister Lindiwe Sisulu last year.

Ben Magubane would chair the Review Committee to be responsible for developing new criteria for the management, protection and access to information.

Sisulu tabled her department’s budget vote in Parliament today and said the committee aimed to ensure coherence among various laws that regulate access, protection and storage of information.

“A main challenge relates to putting in place a review process and mechanism to appraise existing classified records in order to consider them for re-classification, declassification and access,” said Sisulu.

“There has been a great deal of controversy around the issue of declassification. Opinions have been expressed that the Intelligence Services are in breach of the Promotion of Access Information Act,” she said.

“This is untrue. We have the most liberal law applying to the Intelligence Services and our laws compel us to balance the disclosure of information with appropriate measures that will secure the well being of the State and it’s people,” explained the minister.

Sisulu said the review committee had made progress since inception and added it had had reviewed policy, received public input, consulted various stakeholders and collected data on their work.

The committee was expected to deliver a report to President Thabo Mbeki shortly, she said. –BuaNews.