Following the Defence Review 1998, the need to develop cradle-to-grave support for soldiers in the regular reserve force and those who participated in the liberation movement but never integrated into the military system was identified as a priority. The Military Veterans Act was subsequently enacted to coordinate the comprehensive delivery of benefits to military veterans and, where applicable, their dependants. This would help achieve the aspiration that military veterans' affairs would be managed holistically by a unitary organisation. However, eligibility to access these benefits depends on the registration of military veterans in the National Military Veterans' Database. While the database has been developed, its functionality has not met expectations. Using a qualitative desktop-based methodology, this article analyses the policy and legislative instruments to inform the development of a credible, secure and centralised database. It explores the intersection between various domestic instruments, including the Military Veterans Act, the Protection of Personal Information Act, the State Information Technology Agency Act and the Minimum Information Security Standards. Furthermore, the influence of international and regional frameworks such as the Council of Europe's Convention 108+ and the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation is also considered. The article ultimately offers salient governance protocols to realise a secure military veterans' database in line with section 6 of the Military Veterans Act.
Nandipha Ntsaluba (Thu,) studied this question.