Pretoria has established two new intelligence bodies and introduced measures to regulate digital interception
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed off on sweeping reforms to the country’s intelligence services.
The new legislation – the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill – dissolves the existing State Security Agency (SSA) and establishes two separate entities: the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) and the Domestic Intelligence Agency (DIA), the presidential administration announced on Friday.
The FIS will be responsible for gathering intelligence overseas to detect potential threats to national security, while the DIA will focus on counterintelligence and assessing domestic risks.
Additionally, the law re-establishes the South African National Academy of Intelligence (SANAI) and the Intelligence Training Institute to enhance training for both domestic and foreign intelligence operations.
“The law also addresses concerns about bulk interception by intelligence services of internet traffic entering or leaving South Africa, by introducing new measures including authorisation within the intelligence services as well as court reviews of such interception,” the statement read.
The new legislation places the administration, financial management, and expenditure of intelligence entities under the oversight of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, “a multiparty committee of Parliament that processes public complaints about the intelligence services and monitors the finances and operations of these services.”
The General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill amends the National Strategic Intelligence Act of 1994, the Intelligence Services Act of 2002, and the Intelligence Services Oversight Act of 1994 to implement the changes.
In November, local news agency City Press, quoting a member of parliament, reported that South Africa’s State Security Agency was gearing up for large-scale dismissals. The reports indicated that the government was dissatisfied with the agency’s overall performance.
In July, government minister Dean Macpherson announced that over the past ten years, hackers had stolen 300 million rand ($16.6 million) from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI). Multiple news agencies described it as the largest ever cyberattack on the South African government.
Following the theft of 24 million rand ($1.3 million) from the DPWI in a cyberattack last May, former DPWI Minister Sihle Zikalala launched a full investigation involving the South African Police Service, State Security Agency, and IT specialists.
