(c)
DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC ENTERPRISES
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLE
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 289
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 18 February 2011
289. Mr J F van der Linde (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:
(1) How many documents have (a) his (i) ministry and (ii) department and
(b) any (i) institution or (ii) agency which receives transfers from his
departmental budget classified as (aa) top secret, (bb) secret, (cc)
confidential and (dd) restricted under the provisions of the Minimum
Information Security Standards that were adopted by the Cabinet on 4
December 1996 in the (aaa) 2005-06, (bbb) 2006-07, (ccc) 2007-08, (ddd)
2008-09 and (eee) 2009-10 financial years;
(2) What is the (a) name and (b)(i) rank or (ii) employment level of the
official who decided on the classification at each specified public body?
NW311E
REPLY
(1) The classification and categorization of documents and the nature of
their sensitivity are listed below as requested for the financial years
2005-06 to 2009-10. Please note that the classification and the
categorization of documents is the same for the 2005-06 to 2009-10
financial years.
(a)(i) MINISTRY
Top secret: There are two (2) categories of Top Secret documents in the
Ministry. These are Cabinet memoranda and Cabinet decisions.
Secret: There are four (4) categories of Secret documents in the Ministry.
These are memoranda, meeting packs, reports and correspondence.
Confidential: There are three (3) categories of Confidential documents in
the Ministry. These are meeting packs, staff case files and reports.
Restricted: There are two (2) categories of Restricted documents in the
Ministry. These are staff case files and reports.
(a)(ii) DEPARTMENT
Top secret: Top secret documents in the Department are classified into two
(2) categories. These are Cabinet memoranda and Cabinet decisions.
Secret: Secret documents are classified into two (2) categories. These are
correspondence and reports.
Confidential: Confidential documents are classified into ten (10)
categories. These are correspondence; reports; agreements; contracts;
memoranda of understanding; memoranda of agreement; service level
agreements; meeting packs; leases; personnel and staff case files.
Restricted: Restricted documents are classified into eight (8), namely:
correspondence, reports, case files, PFMA applications, shareholder
compacts, corporate plans, meeting packs, and personnel/staff case files.
(b) (i) and (ii) In respect of State Owned Entities (SOE) reporting to the
Department, all the SOE are required to comply with various legislation
regulating disclosure and classification of documents.
(2) What is the name and rank or employment level of the official who
decided on the classification at each specified public body?
The classification of documents for the Ministry and the Department is done
by the Director General who is designated the Chief Information Officer
according to the Promotion of Information Act 2 of 2000. The classification
is regulated by the Minimum Information Security Standards. Therefore, the
Director-General in consultation with the Ministry followed the Minimum
Information Security Standards to classify records for both the Ministry
and the Department according to Top Secret, Secret, Confidential and
Restricted. The classification is more fully set out in the Departmentâs
manual developed in 2007/8 pursuant to the Promotion of Access to
Information Act 2 of 2000. The Manual is available on the Departmentâs
website at www.dpe.gov.za.