Tanzania's national intelligence agency set for reforms

Dar es Salaam. The Parliament yesterday approved a bill that introduced some reforms to the structure and operations of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (Tiss).

The spy department, which will now directly report to the President instead of a minister, will align with the nature and operations of other intelligence services around the world, according to the Minister in the President’s Office for Public Service Management and Good Governance, Mr George Simbachawene, who presented the bill to the National Assembly yesterday.  “Different sections have been proposed for amendment to align with the new structure of the department’s reporting system,” Mr Simbachawene said.

The amendment redesignates the espionage agency as a national defence and security institution in order to acknowledge that the department’s tasks are being carried out without legal authority.  Such duties include the personal defence of national and international leaders, the defence of special centres, and the control of security threats against Tanzania, according to Mr Simbachawene.

The bill also introduces a section that spells out the qualifications of an individual who will be appointed as the Tiss director general and the conditions after the service. However, Mr Simbachawene did not list the proposed qualifications, which were listed in the amendment. The bill was not published on the official website of the Parliament, as others do, with one official commenting that it’s not a public document. The introduction of the qualifications aims to allow authorities to recruit a capable and professional individual for the post of intelligence chief.

The bill also established the qualifications for one to be employed as an intelligence officer and made a condition for the use of a weapon during the carrying out of the duties of the spy officers. The new amendment makes the intelligence head the chief president’s advisor in matters related to national security. The bill adds immunity to the intelligence officers by protecting them from suits in case they make mistakes in their legal operations.

Previously, the intelligence officers had immunity over civil suits only, but Mr Simbachawene, without explaining, said the approved bill will extend the immunity of the spy officers, in case of blunders as they carry out their duties.

The government had also submitted proposals to restrict a person who served as the head of the intelligence services from being employed or appointed to any government position. However, such a proposal was rejected by the Parliament’s committee on Governance, Constitution and Legal Affairs, according to the committee statement. “The committee advised that such restrictions contradict the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and therefore urged the removal of the subsection,” the committee stated.