Integral to the White Paper on Intelligence drafted in 1994 was the establishment of oversight
mechanisms over the Intelligence Services. Referred to as the legislative
oversight mechanism, the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI)
is an oversight Parliamentary body comprised of members of the six largest
political parties.Act 40 of 1994 provides for the establishment of the JSCI.
Parties currently serving on the
JSCI are the African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha
Freedom Party (IFP) and Independent Democrats (ID). Selection to the Committee
is based on proportional representation decided on by percentage of votes
received in the last national election.
The JSCI hears complaints from the public, scrutinizes the
finances and operations of the Services and reports to Parliament on these
matters.
Parliamentary members serving on the JSCI, take an oath of secrecy
and undergo security screening to ensure that they do not compromise the work of the Services
in the course of performing their duties.
The committee is headed by Dr Siyabonga Cwele.
