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 Spooks' business tentacles
    October 12 2009 at 10:49AM Get IOL on your
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By Louise Flanagan

If the new head of South Africa's intelligence services gets post for some of his businesses, he will have to pick it up at the Iraqi embassy.

New State Security Agency (SSA) Director-General (DG) Mzuvukile Jeff Maqetuka retains interests in at least 14 businesses.

His colleague, newly appointed DG of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Lizo Gibson Njenje, is an even busier man, with links to at least 30 businesses.

Public servants must get permission to make money outside their jobs, and anyone appointed to the intelligence services must undergo a security clearance.

Both men have held senior positions at various times in the intelligence structures, and some of their business interests overlapped with this.
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While the private business dealings appear unseemly for senior officials paid full-time by the government for many years, particularly in intelligence work, Maqetuka's dealings may have given him the edge in landing his current job - for 12 years he has been in business with a top NIA operative, and for three years with another businessman trusted by the NIA to help keep a watch over government communications.

NIA spokeswoman Lorna Daniels said Maqetuka was outside the country and could not be contacted, while Njenje had indicated he would resign from his businesses.

Daniels said that despite what the electronic records of the Company and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) said, this did not mean that the individuals concerned had not already resigned.

"Furthermore, all financial interest is declared to check for any conflict of interest. The individuals concerned had always done this as is required by public sector legislation. The same applies to their recent appointment to the State Security Agency," said Daniels.

In July, the Public Service Commission warned public servants that it was their responsibility to check that their business dealings were accurately recorded on Cipro's database.

Maqetuka was deputy DG of the NIA from 1995 to 1997, and Njenje was deputy DG of the SA Secret Service (SASS) and deputy DG of the NIA during 2003 and 2005.

The NIA deals with intelligence within South Africa and the SASS with external issues.

In February 1997 Maqetuka became a member of two close corporations, Real Image Films and SA Film and Video Distributors, along with NIA colleague Arthur Fraser. Both are still part of these businesses.

Fraser is now the NIA's deputy DG for operations.

In 1997 Maqetuka became a director of at least five Lebone companies. The Africa Lebone Group, Lebone Construction, Lebone Security Systems, Lebone Aviation and Lebone Health were set up on different dates in 1997.

The businesses and the directors, including Maqetuka, used the same post office box address in Pretoria.

The businesses still exist, with the same addresses, and Maqetuka is still linked to them, but that post office box is now used by the Iraqi embassy.

One Lebone director is Themba Sono, a founder member of Nkobi Holdings, the business used by President Jacob Zuma's former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, who was convicted of corruption.

In 2004, Sono told Shaik's trial he left Nkobi in 1997 because Shaik made him feel "like a con artist".

One version of Maqetuka's CV indicates that in 1997 he was a director of Lebone Technologies, but the company didn't exist at the time. He was also involved in a mining company.

During 2000 and 2001 Maqetuka was deputy DG of the SASS and from 2001 to 2003 he co-ordinated the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (Nicoc).

His business dealings continued - in 2000 he also joined Corporate Compass Consulting, which he remains part of.

Between March 2005 and September 2006 Maqetuka was Home Affairs DG. During this time he joined Chima Properties along with Abbey Chikane.

Chikane sits on the board of the NIA-owned business Electronic Communications Security (Comsec), which ensures the safety of government communications. Former NIA chief Manala Manzini still sits on the Comsec board.

Njenje's CV is vague, but his business dealings are extensive. He has been linked to more than 50 businesses and is still part of more than 30.

There is a history of NIA staff running businesses while they work for the government.

Fraser is still linked to the businesses he shares with Maqetuka, and to a hospitality and conference business.

Manzini was a director of at least nine businesses while working for the NIA.



    • This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on October 12, 2009
Showing page 1 of 1 comment pages, 6 total comments
5 Weeks ago Realist wrote :
If you are a public servant and your salary is being paid by the tax payer then that is your fulltime job. You should not have any other jobs or active business interests. This is why nothing gets done by the government of this country. Every public servant, MP, politician, minister spends more time running corrupt shady deals and other companies than actually doing the job they were elected to do and are paid to do. No person in public office shoul;d have a second job or be active in the private sector for the length of time they are in office. They get paid and have perks enough so money is not an excuse...
5 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
I do not agree with JR that salaries in the civil service are low. At the level of these guys, it is more than a million a year. They can afford a fried chicken special once a month.
5 Weeks ago JR wrote :
Hey guess what this is part and parcel of living in Africa. It is corruption but in a roundabout way. There is no way that these and all other government officials dont line their pockets and use their positions to further their business interests. Why would they work for the low salries the government pays them? How many ex-government people walk out of the government and into plush jobs with huge salaries? All of them do. It is part of life.
5 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
As far as I know many of these people have their businesses outside of the public sector and use their status to gain these interests in the business. I have been part of the cilvil service once and must say that doing both business and goverment work is not feasible. One had to go. I had five companies at the time making a good profit. the onely things my position did was give credibility which made it easier with my name on the paper for the company to move forward, thus building up a good nest egg for the future. Some of us do get greedy though...
5 Weeks ago GUN ONE wrote :
"Manzini was a director of at least nine businesses while working for the NIA." - Just a point of interest or concern here. How does one be a director of 9 businesses and still find time to serve in public office posts and get paid for doing so. I am a director of a small company and there not enough hours in one day. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE FOR THESE PEOPLE TO STILL GET PAID. ARE THEY NOT SLEEPING OR THEY JUST WORKING MINIMAL HOURS. HOW AER THERE SALARIES THEN JUSTIFIED. EISH!
5 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
If a poor senior civil servant cannot live according to his position he has to become involved in outside business affairs, or else he has to steal from his employer.

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