President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a high-powered panel of people with expertise in intelligence, finance and academia to clean-up the State Security Agency (SSA) following allegations of misuse of millions of rand of state funds.
His announcement yesterday comes as the country reels from
a spate of cash-in-transit heists which, in some circles, was casting doubt on the ability of crime intelligence services to trace and apprehend the perpetrators.
However, Ramaphosa made his intention to appoint the panel known in May this year in Parliament after the SSA, then headed by Arthur Fraser, was entangled in internal wranglings and rivalries which threatened state security.
Yesterday, the Presidency appointed 10 experts to the panel, to be led by Minister of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi, who is also a leading academic at the University of Johannesburg.
The Presidency also roped-in two intelligence operatives, Barry Gilder and Silumko Sokupa, who were both co-ordinators for intelligence which consisted of heads of the National Intelligence Agency, SA Secret Services, the SAPS’s Crime Intelligence Unit, Defence Intelligence and the directors-general in the Presidency and Foreign Affairs.
In a surprise move, Ramaphosa also appointed Andre Pruis, the retired former spin doctor of the Minister of Law and Order Adriaan Vlok, on to his team of experts.
While in the police, Pruis served as chairperson of the national joint operational and intelligence structure responsible for the co-ordination and integrated planning for all national security operations.
He was also responsible for the provision of policing as well as safety and security during all major events. These included international conferences and sporting events including the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Leading academics Dr Siphokazi Magadla, Professor Jane Duncan, Anthoni van Nieuwkerk and Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo, a Public Services Commissioner in Nelson Mandela’s government, were also appointed to the panel.
Magadla and Duncan are known to have strong views against state repression.
All members have expertise in different fields of international relations and politics and journalism.
Vil-Nkomo was apparently an obvious choice to channel the SSA to observe the ethos of public service and oath of office.
Basetsana Molebatsi is one of the country’s leading lawyers who is championing human rights and respect for the rule of law.
Murray Michel is the former head of the Financial Intelligence Centre, which was the cornerstone of the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism before stepping down in December last year. He had been at the helm for 14-years.
Presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said the panel’s duty was to assess the structure of the SSA relative to its mandate and enquire into its systems and capacity. It is due to complete its work within three months.
Ramaphosa had also appointed former Minister of Defence Charles Nqakula as his national security adviser.
“The president has said that the panel must seek to identify all material factors that allowed for some of the current challenges within the agency so that appropriate measures are instituted to prevent a recurrence.
“The main objective of the review panel is to assist in ensuring a responsible and accountable national intelligence capability for the country in line with the constitution and relevant legislation,” Diko said.