President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed former Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) executive director Robert McBride as the new head of the State Security Agency foreign branch.
In a statement on Thursday, State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said McBride has been appointed for a period of three years, commencing from July 1 until June 30, 2023. Dlodlo said McBride brought a wealth of experience to the security services.
"Minister Dlodlo welcomes Mr McBride to his new position and wishes him well for his tenure in the agency. She also expresses her sincere thanks to the president for filling this position, which has been vacant for about four years."
She also said McBride's appointment would serve to bring organisational stability to the agency.
"The work to implement the recommendations of the High Level Panel on the State Security Agency is proceeding steadily and this appointment is one of the critical steps towards the journey to rebuild the agency," she said.
McBride is taking over from Joyce Mashele, who was acting in that position.
Prior to his appointment, he was the head of the public administration ethics, integrity and disciplinary technical assistance unit in the Department of Public Service and Administration.
He quit Ipid in February last year when his contract was not renewed by Police Minister Bheki Cele. Prior to that, he was the chief of the metropolitan police for Ekurhuleni.