(1)Whether she was asked in her official capacity as the Minister of State Security by the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, to discuss the legal matter between a certain person (name furnished) and the Republic of Botswana while planning to meet with the President of the Republic of Botswana, Mr M E K Masisi, at the beginning of July 2020; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what are the relevant details, (b) how did she respond to the specified request and (c) on what statutory or any other grounds did she rely to accept the President’s request to intervene in a private matter;
(2) whether she has ever held any discussions in her official capacity as the Minister of State Security with President M E K Masisi regarding the allegations levelled against the specified person by the Republic of Botswana; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether she has ever been asked in her official capacity as the Minister of State Security to intervene in the private matters of any of her colleagues; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what are the relevant details and (b) on what statutory and/or any other grounds did she rely in order to intervene in the private matters of any of her colleagues;
(4) why did she cancel her planned visit to the Republic of Botswana at the beginning of July 2020;
(5) whether she intends to travel to the Republic of Botswana in the remainder of 2020 to discuss matters surrounding the (a) Southern African Customs Union and/or (b) allegations levelled against the said person; if not, in each case, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
(1) The Minister has never been asked by the President to intervene on the matter in question.
Any legal matter between South Africa and any other country would be dealt with through the appropriate channels and instruments, such as mutual legal assistance. The Ministry responsible for the Civilian Intelligence structures is not one of such instruments.
(2) There has never been a discussion between the ...
(1)What are the criteria for top secret security clearance that is required for a senior appointment in the State Security Agency;
(2) whether Mr Robert McBride attained security clearance and complied with the specified criteria; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether she will make a statement on the matter?
- The criteria for Top Secret security clearance are multiple and include the successful completion of the vetting process that includes
1.1 Verification of the subject’s/applicant’s records as reflected in databases:
- criminal records;
- financial records;
- personal information; or
- any other information that is relevant to determine the security clearance of a person.
1.2 The positive outcome following a vetting fieldwork investigation. For a Top-Secret ...
(1)With reference to her reply to question 934 on 8 June 2020, what was the amount of each transaction with each company mentioned in her reply;
(2) whether her department purchased any goods and/or services below the amount of R500 000 connected to the Covid-19 pandemic; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) is the name of each company from which the specified goods and/or services were purchased, (b) is the amount of each transaction and (c) was the service and/or product that each company rendered;
(3) whether there was any deviation from the standard supply chain management procedures in the transactions; if so, (a) why and (b) what are the further relevant details in each case;
(4) what were the reasons that the goods and/or services were purchased from the specified companies;
(5) whether she will make a statement on the matter?
1. In theresponse to Parliamentary Question 934 on 8 June 2020, items, suppliers and amounts were tabulated and repeated below:
Hence to answer Parliamentary Question 1159 that asks about specifically companies and total amounts, transactions with Inhlanhla Ga Tshwarelo amounted to R61 700.00, those with Bidvest Steiner to R431 560.00, those with Lechoba Medical Technology to R477 369.80, and those with Ubuntu Technologies to R66 122.70. ...
(1)On what date will a permanent appointment be made for the position of Director-General of her department;
(2) has the contract of a certain person (details furnished)- “Acting Director-General”) been extended after it expired at the end of March 2020; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) on what date will a permanent appointment be made for the position of Director: Foreign Branch;
(4) (a) what number of positions for deputy director-general within the State Security Agency (SSA) are currently occupied in an acting capacity and (b) on what date will permanent appointments be made for the specified positions;
(5) (a) what number of positions for General Manager within the SSA are currently occupied in an acting capacity and (b) on what date will permanent appointments be made for the specified positions?
1. The matter on permanent appointment of the Director-General is a work in progress, details on the process including the date will be provided to the Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
2. Yes. The contract has been extended until 31 August 2020.
3. The permanent appointment for position of Director: Foreign Branch was made with commencement date of 1 July 2020
4 The ...
What (a) number of persons are currently employed in an (i) administrative and (ii) operational capacity in the State Security Agenc’s (aa) domestic and (bb) foreign intelligence Divisions, (b) number of the specified persons have criminal records in each case and (c) are the relevant details of the (i) offence(s) each person was convicted of and (ii) date on which each conviction was made;
(2) Why are the persons with criminal records employed in each of the specified Intelligence Divisions?
1 (a)
1. (aa) (i) Operational Capacity is: 1501 and
(ii) Administrative Capacity is: 147
1. (bb) (i) Operational Capacity is: 291 and
(ii) Administrative Capacity is: 22
1. (b) None
1. (c) (i) & (ii) Not applicable given 1(b).
2. Not applicable given 1(b).
With reference to the most recent break-in at the offices of the State Security Agency (SSA), what (a) number of instances of ((i) theft and (ii) fraud occurred at the SSA offices over the past 10 years and (b) is the estimated accumulated value of the specified instances;
(2) Whether the cases were reported to the (a) SA Police Service and (b) Inspector General of Intelligence; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;
(3) What (a) number of (i) arrests and (ii) prosecutions have taken place and (b) total amount has been recovered?
The Honourable Member is kindly referred to the Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) where a reply to this Parliamentary Question has been logged.
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(1)Whether her department awarded any tenders connected to the Covid-19 pandemic; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) are the names of the businesses to whom these tenders were awarded, (b) are the amounts of each tender awarded and (c) was the service and/or product to be supplied by each business;
(2) whether there was any deviation from the standard supply chain management procedures in the awarding of the tenders; if so, (a) why and (b) what are the relevant details in each case;
(3) what was the reason for which each specified business was awarded the specified tender;
(4) whether she will make a statement on the matter?
(1) The department has not awarded any open tender related to Covid-19 pandemic, however, awarded 3 Purchase Orders to date for Covid-19 related personal protective equipment (PPE) and 1 Purchase Order for antivirus software for the Secure Video Conferencing Solution through quotation processes to the following companies (i) Bidvest Steiner, (ii) Inhlanhla Ga Tshwarelo, (iii) Lechoba Medical Supplies and Ubuntu Technologies.
(2) Deviation process ...
(1)Whether her department will offer any form of Covid-19 financial or other relief to small businesses; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether the Covid-19 financial or other relief will only be allocated to qualifying small businesses according to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, Act 53 of 2003, as amended; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) on what statutory grounds and/or provisions does she or her department rely to allocate Covid-19 financial or other relief only to small businesses according to the specified Act and (b) what form of Covid-19 financial or other relief, if any, will be made available to other small businesses?
1. No, the Department will not offer any form of Covid-19 financial or other relief to small businesses. It is not within the mandate of the Department to offer any form of Covid-19 financial or other relief to small business.
2. No, there will be no financial or other relief to be allocated. It is not within the mandate of the Department to offer ...
Whether her department has made an intelligence assessment to determine whether the Republic is potentially at risk from the rise of radicalism in northern Mozambique; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
The Honourable Member is kindly referred to the Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) where a reply to this Parliamentary Question has been logdged.
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a) What number of meetings did her department’s former Director-General, Mr Arthur Fraser, conduct with the Public Protector, and the Commissioner of the SA Revenue Services and the National Director of Public Prosecutions present from 01 January to 30 April 2018, (b) what was the purpose of each meeting, and {c) where did each meeting take place?
The requested information is of such a nature that it would form part of the broader operational strategy of the State Security Agency and therefore as a matter of policy, the SSA does not disclose such information. It should however be observed that the SSA is held accountable on such matters by the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence
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