Durban - South Africa will have a new inspector-general of intelligence in the next few months after Parliament has finalised the process of appointing the successor to Faith Radebe.
Members of the joint standing committee on intelligence will next week convene their first meeting to set in motion processes of shortlisting and interviewing candidates for the top intelligence job.
Committee chairwoman Connie September on Tuesday refused to comment on the process.
The DA had earlier in the week called for an open and transparent process in the appointment of a new head of the oversight authority for intelligence agencies.
The inspector-general of intelligence oversees the work of intelligence agencies of the state, including the State Security Agency, intelligence in defence and crime intelligence in the police.
The incumbent can launch an investigation into conduct inconsistent with the constitution and laws governing intelligence agencies.
DA MP and party deputy spokesman on state security David Maynier said on Tuesday they want an open process.
He said while the committee was initially scheduled to meet today, the meeting had been shifted to next Wednesday.
The DA’s concern that the intelligence committee would hold its meeting behind closed doors appears to have been addressed.
Maynier said it had been determined that the committee would allow for an open process.
While the committee would first meet behind closed doors, that meeting would possibly be to decide on having an open process, he said. “We are committed to a fair and transparent process,” Maynier said.
Radebe was appointed by the president in March 2010 after Parliament had recommended her.
The appointment was a month before the expiry date of her predecessor Zolile Ngcakani on December 31, 2009.
Radebe’s appointment was delayed for a few months after Parliament twice failed to have a quorum to approve her appointment.
Radebe is a former diplomat who also served in the National Intelligence Agency structures for a number of years.
Maynier said the call for an open and transparent process was to ensure that the person appointed would be impartial, and hold intelligence structures accountable for any transgressions.
The law requires that the inspector-general of intelligence report to Parliament.
Radebe’s tenure has not been mired in any controversy in the country’s muddied political waters.
Three years ago, she probed former head of police crime intelligence Richard Mdluli over controversies surrounding him, but she refused to make her findings public.
More controversies around Mdluli were in the courts when he faced on-off prosecutions for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, Oupa Ramogibe, in 1999.
The Mdluli saga has been dragging on for several years, and also involved the Public Protector at some point.
Mdluli was also accused of hiring his relatives in several positions in the police and involved in abusing the police’s slush fund account.
Maynier said they had to ensure that the next inspector-general serves the interests of all South Africans and not only those of the ruling party.
Daily News