MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 223
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11 MAY 2012
Mr D B Feldman (COPE-Gauteng) to ask the Minister of Defence and
Military Veterans:
(1) Whether the budget of R8 billion for the Hoefyster Project is
still sufficient; if not, why not; if so,
(2) whether the projects envisaged for roll-out are still relevant;
if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) how much
of the budget is still left to complete these projects, (b) what
are the targeted deadlines for their completion and (c) what (i)
is the administration, (ii) are the objectives and (iii) are the
outcomes of this fund?
CW321E
REPLY
I note that this is a third question asked by the Honourable Member
about the Hoefyster Project since the beginning of the year. In my
replies to questions 1 and 144 I indicated that the information
relating to this project is classified and can only be provided to the
Joint Standing Committee on Defence in accordance with section 199(8)
of The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
Further, section 41 (1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act,
2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) specifically emphasises the importance of the
security of information when it comes to Defence, security and
international relations of the Republic. This section asserts that:
âthe information officer of a public body may refuse a request for
access to a record of the body if its disclosure â
a) Could reasonably be expected to cause prejudice to â
i) The Defence of the Republic;
ii) The security of the republicâ.
Section 41 (2) further states that a record contemplated in subsection
(1), without limiting the generality of that section, includes a
record containing information â
â(a) relating to military tactics or strategy or military exercises
or operations undertaken in preparation of hostilities or in
connection with detection, prevention, suspension or curtailment
of subversive or hostile activities;
b) Relating to the quantity, characteristics, capabilities,
vulnerabilities of deployment of â
i) weapons or any other equipment used for the detection,
prevention, suppression or curtailment of subversive or
hostile activities; or
(ii) anything being designed, developed, produced or considered
for use as weapons or such other equipment;
c) relating to the characteristics, capabilities, vulnerabilities,
performance, potential, deployment or functions of-
i) Any military force, unit or personnel; â¦â.
I must hasten and indicate that in this case it is not a matter of
refusing to provide information but merely stating that I will provide
the information to the JSCD once it has put measures in place that
would ensure the security of Defence information.
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