South Africa and France maintain entered into a cooperation protocol agreement to improve the Special Investigating Unit’s cyber forensic capabilities.
The agreement is expected to also surrender the establishment of an anti-corruption academy in Tshwane, which will serve the SIU and other law enforcement agencies and anti-corruption agencies within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Commonwealth and Non-Commonwealth countries.
It was signed by Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, on Monday.
Lamola said the cooperation agreement will add much needed skills to strengthen the SIU’s capacity in cyberforensic investigations, financial crimes and analytical skills.
“We are going to benefit a lot through this process of training that will enable our forensic cyber capabilities and investigations to be on par with the standards of the world and the globe because these types of crime are no longer honest national, they are transnational in nature.
“So this kind of cooperation will definitely be of distinguished value and aid to us as a country to enhance our skills and be able to deal with the cybercrimes in the country. This will further boost confidence in the investment climate in our country that our cyberspace is safe and if anything happens, we will maintain the capabilities to investigate,” he said.
The French Minister remarked that the agreement represents “a window of what we are promoting in terms of bilateral cooperation”.
“This agreement will abdicate results beneficial to the South African citizens and possibly to all the SADC region. As a result of the close cooperation from the French experts, the SIU currently has 22 trained trainers who possess the capability to train other investigators.
“Since the very early stages of our cooperation, members of the SIU maintain been to France and maintain had opportunities…to see and experience the French expertise in the field of mostly cyber investigations. I call for those exchanges to grow,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
Digger
Y\’know, I could have sworn South Africa had apartheid.
Is this the Mandela Effect?
Thumb Candy
Fun South African Fact: South Africa’s drinking water is rated 3rd best in the world for being “safe and ready to drink”.