Cape Town - Interviews for the new inspector-general of intelligence got under way behind closed doors on Tuesday at Parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence, in a departure from the previously open process.
DA MPs walked out of the committee, and the party’s chief whip John Steenhuisen has written to Speaker Baleka Mbete to urgently request reasons the interviews were closed to the public in contravention of both precedent and section 59(2) of the constitution, which says committees may not exclude the public “unless it is reasonable and justifiable to do so in an open and democratic society”.
The inspector-general of intelligence is the statutory oversight entity over the country’s intelligence services, and also the office for complaints against intelligence services.
Incumbent Faith Radebe - who was appointed after public interviews with the likes of nominees with long-standing intelligence backgrounds and careers, Barry Gilder and Dennis Dlomo - departs from office at the end of this month. The job was publicly advertised and earlier this month the committee decided on a public shortlisting process.
“The selection of the inspector-general of intelligence is different in the nature of the work ordinarily undertaken by the committee,” said Steenhuisen’s letter, which has been seen by the Cape Argus.
“There is no justifiable reason to close the appointment process to the public and this decision will do nothing more than undermine the authority and standing of this position.”
Tuesday’s letter followed earlier correspondence from deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli, dismissing the initial call by DA MP David Maynier for the interviews to be held in public.
“It is clear that, in law, the JSCI is not an open committee under normal circumstance, and that it may only open meetings if the committee so decides,” the deputy speaker wrote.
It remains unclear why the committee decided against open interviews.
Former JSCI chairman Cecil Burgess is among the eight short-listed candidates, who include former chief operating officer of the Office of the Inspector-General, Imtiaz Fazel, and advocate Jayashree Govender, who has been legal adviser to the inspector-general since at least Zolile Ngcakani’s time.
Political Bureau