A bigger role for MOCA
tures collapsed into the SSA as branches, with each branch led by a head, accountable to the director general: The National Intelligence Agency The South African Secret Service The South African National Academy of Intelligence The National Communications Centre The Office for Interception Centres Electronic Communications Security (Pty) Ltd
The Government and national security officials must examine merging the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Anti-Gang Intelligence Unit, the National Intelligence Bureau, and the Military Intelligence Unit of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to form a new and elite intelligence and lawenforcement agency.
To whom should MOCA report?
The proposed MOCA legislation must contain provision for the collection and analysis of intelligence and present its assessments and policy recommendations to the National Security Council, the designated authority to whom the agency should report, not to the security minister or the police commis- sioner. Legislation must clearly state that the National Security Council is designated as a department of the Cabinet Office, with the Cabinet secretary heading the Security Council Secretariat.
The operational charter of the new MOCA should include extraterritorial, transnational crimes. The agency will have the powers of investigation and arrest identical to police powers and are likewise regulated and governed by the laws of the land, in particular, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Official Secrets Act. MOCA will also have administrative functions pertaining to the protective security and responsibility for setting standards and act as the security consultant for public-sector agencies.
ADEQUATE RESOURCES
The new agency must be granted sufficient resources and expertise to address certain new transnational threats: infrastructure protection, including information systems; specifically the Internet. The issue of protection against hackers and cyberattacks has become all the more pertinent and urgent. Individuals, corporations, and nations that are unable to defend themselves will suffer economic and other consequences. The proposed legislation must empower MOCA as the agency to investigate cyber threats and IT security breaches.
The preservation of national security is a multifaceted endeavour that requires cooperation across a diverse range of initiatives and programmes.
To supervise and coordinate this expanded planning and programming function between the new MOCA, the JCF and JDF, I propose the creation of a new position at the level of Cabinet Office. This individual would have the responsibility and authority to run a process that sets inter-agency programme priorities, supported by a small, dedicated staff. Indeed, the bestlaid plans are useful only if ends (specified as outcomes) and means (funds) match reasonably well.
Competition for scarce resources, unfortunately, is forever fierce in Jamaica. With Jamaica in an economic bind coupled with a police force severely understaffed, underfunded and under-resourced, decision-makers must decide whether we are merely creating another underfunded and underresourced agency.