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Date
: 02/11/2005
Source: Ministry of Safety and Security
Title: Nqakula: Monitoring and Evaluation media briefing, November
2005
Media briefing by Minister of Ministry of Safety and
Security Charles Nqakula: Justice Crime Prevention and Security
(JCPS) Cabinet Cluster, Cape Town
This briefing, largely, will cover this cluster’s activities
since the last interaction with the media. The cluster’s
work, as we have said in the past, is guided by the dictates
government defined as a programme for all the clusters. It is a
programme that will run until 2014, when the current decade
ends.
The projects that are key to the JCPS programme of action include
the reduction of crime, especially serious and violent crime, by
between 7 and 10% during the next five years, the consolidation of
our judiciary to deal with matters like court backlogs and slow
court processes, overcrowding in the Correctional Services
detention centres, immigration problems and fraud and corruption
relating to South Africa’s identity and travel documents,
resource (human and material) problems within our civilian
intelligence structures, and peacekeeping difficulties experienced
by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
All the matters referred to above are receiving continuous
attention. We have given ourselves the five years that will end on
31 March 2009, to improve the cluster’s position and resolve
many of the problems we are encountering at the present time.
Intelligence
a) Financial Intelligence:
South Africa’s intelligence structures, including the
Financial Intelligence Centre that resorts under National Treasury,
hosted in the past two days counterparts from 14 Eastern and
Southern African countries for training in and the sharing of
experience regarding financial intelligence practices to deal with,
among other things, money laundering and the funding of
international terrorism.
It is our hope that the seed would have been planted during the
sessions to build a solid foundation toward the establishment on
the African Continent of regimes to counter all financial
transactions that relate to organised crime and terrorism.
Reporting institutions have submitted to South Africa’s
Financial Intelligence Centre, from its inception in February 2003,
33 435 reports of suspicious financial transactions. The regular
reports are a positive outcome of the better co-ordination within
the JCPS cluster, including other relevant government departments
and structures such as the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and
the Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU).
The cluster is going to strengthen its counter-measures with
respect to money laundering and the funding of international
terrorism. This may result in the review of the Financial
Intelligence Centre Act to give the Financial Intelligence Centre
wider supervisory powers.
b) Intelligence Legislation:
The Minister of Intelligence has established a task team, led by
the Co-ordinator of Intelligence and consisting of representatives
from all the components of the civilian intelligence community, to
prepare integrated proposals to him on a range of legislative
issues that may require review. These matters will include
legislation, internal regulations and operating procedures that
govern the Intelligence Services.
The intention of the review is to determine whether there are any
gaps or ambiguities that need tightening up. This includes a
possible review of the White Paper on Intelligence in order to
bring it up to date with the experiences of the past 11 years,
further clarifying the mandates of the intelligence services,
especially as they relate to counter-intelligence and
counter-terrorism, clarifying the organisational status of certain
components of the civilian intelligence community, such as the
National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC), the Office
of the Inspector General of Intelligence and the National
Communications Centre (NCC).
The exercise will also tighten up legislation and policy on the
effective management of information security in government.
The mandate of the task team has been extended to include a review
of the internal policies of the intelligence agencies governing the
conduct of operations, in order to ensure that they are adequate in
ensuring that the agencies comply with constitutionality and
legality.
The intelligence community, including the Crime Intelligence
Division of the South African Police Service (SAPS) have been
monitoring a number of organised crime syndicates. The operation
has resulted in the arrest of 19 syndicate leaders and 45 runners.
The Assets Forfeiture Unit procured orders for preservation (7),
forfeiture (10) and restraint (7) regarding the assets of the
suspects. A number of disruptive operations were also mounted
resulting in the arrest of 62 suspects for dealing in precious
metals and diamonds, 269 for drug-related crimes, 30 for corruption
and 18 suspects for endangered species-related crimes
The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of
Communication-related Information Act, with the exception of a few
provisions, came into operation on 30 September 2005 and will curb
the unlawful use of electronic information as envisaged in the Act,
i.e. cellular, satellite and computer-aided communications.
c. Fraud and corruption
The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Activities Act (Act 12
of 2004) has been promulgated and currently the law enforcement
agencies are addressing 13 projects related to corruption.
As part of implementing its Counter-Corruption Strategy, the
Department of Home Affairs in October concluded a workshop on
Corruption that amongst other things defined a proper relationship
with security and law enforcement agencies dealing with
corruption.
The workshop resolved that ‘provincial workshops’ on
corruption be hosted by Home Affairs in the next coming months in
order to tighten up strategies at various offices throughout the
country.
The fight on corruption has provided anti-corruption actors with a
range of policies and programmes that can be used to evaluate,
enact, and eventually implement corruption reforms.
The whistle blowing policy also been adopted by Home Affairs to
enhance our systematic uprooting of corruption and related
activities in the Department.
Correctional Services continues to build a secure and ethical
correctional system free of fraud and corruption. A partnership
model adopted by the Department and the Special Investigation Unit
(SIU) has since been adopted by other departments, as it proved to
be successful as demonstrated by the Correctional Services
anti-corruption strategy successes. Over R0.5 billion savings in
medical aid claims were made. SIU is completing its visit of 179
correctional centres this week to investigate allegations of fraud
and corruption. Centres already visited have demonstrated that over
60% thereof are run in line with the prescripts of good governance.
There are a number of investigations that were initiated against
individuals involved in fraud and corruption including the
formulation of criminal charges of medical practitioners and
officials in keeping with government’s no nonsense attitude
to those crimes.
A memorandum of understanding is being finalised by Correctional
Services, South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI)
and Pretoria University for a comprehensive roll out of an ethics
training programme for all managers of Correctional Services to
further eliminating chances of unethical behaviour.
Cluster Projects
The leading projects of the cluster in the next five years are to
reduce the levels of crime by between 7% and 10% annually; improve
case flow management in our courts and to reduce overcrowding in
the Correctional Services detention facilities. Side-by-side with
that, of course, are the acceleration of transformation within the
peace and security environment, including the integrated justice
system and the consolidation of the rehabilitation programme of the
Department of Correctional Services.
The Superior Courts Bill was submitted to cabinet. It deals with
the rationalisation of the High Courts and the establishment of a
seat of the High court in each of the nine provinces.
The 16 days of Activism of No Violence Against Women and Children
campaign is building up to the opening on the 25 November. This
year the campaign will feature several projects, including a
postcard pledge (sponsored by Sapo), the Cyber Dialogues and the
Torch of Peace. The theme for this year is “Partnerships for
Peace” and we have drawn an even greater number of
participating organisations. The launch will be held in Gauteng and
the closing in North West.
Border control and Security
The Department of Home Affairs has trained since its inception of
its immigration branch 116 officers. Currently 57 are still
receiving training.
A threat Risk Assessment Programme at major ports of entry will be
launched to improve the physical security, as well as to prioritise
the minimum information security requirements under the auspices of
the BCOCC (Border Control and Coordination Committee). Working
sub-committees in support of BCOCC to look at various related to
border control i.e. balancing of trade, security and economy.
Firearms Control
The Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Coordinating
Organisation (SARPCCO) will receive in December proposals to help
all the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to
ratify the SADC Protocol on Firearms and Ammunition. SARPCCO is the
Implementation Agency of the Protocol, which was signed in
Blantyre, Malawi, in August 2001.
There are some SADC countries that have not ratified the Protocol
yet, hence the desire on the part of SARPCCO to help such countries
given the predominance of firearms in many instances of crime,
including robbery and murder.
The Ministry for Safety and Security has approached the Leader of
Government Business in the National Assembly with a view to place
in next year’s Parliamentary programme the amendment of the
Firearms Control Act to deal with some ambiguities and loopholes
that militate against the proper implementation of that act.
Issued by: Ministry of Safety and Security
2 November 2005
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