In a first for SA, Ntshavheni releases national intelligence estimates
National intelligence estimates are security assessments that inform government policy and how decisions related to national security are made and have been made public after a few delays.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni during a media briefing at Parliament on 15 July 2025. Picture: South African Government/Facebook
CAPE TOWN - Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has released the national intelligence estimates for the first time in the country’s history in a bid to be more transparent about threats to national security.
National intelligence estimates are strategic assessments of the country's security threats and priority risks produced by the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC).
Ntshavheni told a media briefing on Tuesday that threats to national security could be anything from civil unrest, as witnessed in July 2021, to cyberattacks and espionage against the country.
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National intelligence estimates are security assessments that inform government policy and how decisions related to national security are made and have been made public after a few delays.
The minister said that while the estimates for the current term could not be released to protect operations, a public version of the estimates from the previous administration would be released.
She hailed the move as a "profound step forward" in how national intelligence relates to the state and to Parliament.
"This is the first time in the history of the Republic of South Africa that such instruments of national intelligence are being released in a manner that is both transparent and structured."
She said that the estimates covered a variety of threats facing the country.
"From illegal immigration, espionage, cyber threats and transnational organised crime to climate security, as well as domestic instability among others."
Ntshavheni also released the national security strategy, which aims to ensure South Africans are safe and to protect the country’s sovereignty and political independence.