By Moshoeshoe Monare
Before 2007, even President Jacob Zuma - a former ANC superspy - couldn't discuss sensitive matters without removing his cellphone battery from the handset.
Few still risk discussing any politically sensitive matters on the phone, two years after the ANC's succession dust has seemingly settled.
Zuma once narrated a sad anecdote in which former president Nelson Mandela cautioned him against discussing sensitive issues at a meeting at Madiba's house in Mozambique. Mandela reportedly indicated, through hand gestures, that the house could have been bugged.
Whether imagined or real, such paranoia was a reflection of the political state of the country's security agencies, and the scale of abuse.
The security agencies were in bad shape and some were seriously compromised. Disinformation in the form of the so-called hoax emails, interceptions, mysterious intelligence reports and unlawful surveillance were the order of the day as spooks abandoned their mandate for political battles.
However, there are still many good men and women in the shadows who "serve and remain silent".
The police commissioner and the national director of public prosecutions spent time and resources fighting fiercely, the Scorpions and the police were at war, and the criminal justice system was dysfunctional, demoralising hard-working police officers.
In an interview with The Sunday Independent in April, Zuma did not mince his words on the need to "overhaul" the security structures.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told the newspaper earlier this year that they would forge ahead with such an overhaul, even if it cost millions.
So, it was not surprising when State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele announced a major restructuring of the services last week.
"Immediate attention will be given to the legislative amendments, budget restructuring, redeployment and retraining of staff to core business, the professionalising of the service, and redefining our national security doctrine.
"Operations will continue unaffected, as no staff working in these components will be affected by redeployment," he says. However, he is wrong to say no staff will be affected. Several top security chiefs have left before and after Polokwane - the epicentre of the political volcano that shook the country in 2007 and beyond.
Apart from the departure of the former National Intelligence Agency director-general Manala Manzini, Loyiso Jafta quietly left the National Communications Centre - the country's interceptor of calls outside the country.
The longest-serving superspy, Hilton Tim Dennis, is leaving the secret service, while Taki Netshitenzhe left the Electronic Communications Security - an agency monitoring government communications.
Second, except for the Protection of Information Bill, Cwele is silent on what happened to the policy, legislative and other reviews initiated by his predecessor, Ronnie Kasrils. While Kasrils focused on policy review, Cwele's thrust seems to be organisational restructuring, or what SACP leader Blade Nzimande described in Polokwane in 2007 as a "clean-up".
Kasrils instituted a Ministerial Review Commission, headed by Joe Mathews, to assess the state of the intelligence services. The former intelligence minister announced the completion of the job on August 21 last year.
Four days later, he resigned after the recall of his boss, former president Thabo Mbeki.
"I do not necessarily agree with all of the commission's findings or recommendations. At the time of my resignation, I had initiated an internal process with the services to consider and respond to them. This process is not as yet complete and would therefore have to be taken forward by a new minister," he said.
Intelligence spokesperson Lorna Daniels says Cwele will definitely take into consideration the Mathews Commission recommendations, which include tightening oversight and preventing abuse.
In an interview with The Sunday Tribune this week, Kasrils agreed that the restructuring could miss policy objectives. "Every administration feels that they have to restructure. This is costly, it is time-consuming and in the end, it is incredibly exhausting for the personnel... You do it over and over. People who are there and will be there long after political appointees (have left) become extremely weary. More than that, it does focus attention away from... (implementing policy)," he says.
South Africa is not the only country to restructure its security agencies after a crisis.
After 9/11, the Americans also initiated security reforms, especially in their intelligence services. This resulted in the George Bush administration placing all the 16 security outfits, except the CIA, under the national director of intelligence.
In South Africa, the ANC's national conference in Polokwane was the catalytic political 9/11 that triggered the restructuring of security services, mainly because of perceived abuse and also - it appears - the desire of the new administration to centralise power.
It is public knowledge that Zuma, while still under siege, was indirectly running a parallel, informal intelligence network. For instance, how did his lawyers manage to get hold of the secret intelligence tapes that resulted in the dropping of criminal charges against the president?
To date, Inspector-General Zolile Ngcakani has not answered this question. He will leave this summer.
Therefore, Zuma will not risk keeping - in the eyes of some in the new administration - remnants of the old regime that attempted to bring him down. This is why, according to a security insider who asked not to be named because of the nature of his profession, Zuma opted for trusted lieutenants. "Security, (especially) intelligence... is about trust. Give me any president who will employ his enemy as his top spy," says the insider.
This explains why the new security chiefs - from national Police Commissioner Bheki Cele to the head of the SA Secret Service, Moe Shaik - are very close to Zuma.
To exercise tight control, Cwele created a single civilian service under Jeff Maqetuka, who is responsible for the National Intelligence Agency - under Lizo Njenje - and Shaik's secret service.
The minister, rightly so, argued that the country's major services wasted time and resources on separate corporate services instead of investing on operations.
But Cwele's non-committal attitude on oversight and depoliticising the services is unnerving, especially given the past abuses by rogue elements.
"We have noted the allegations of the politicisation of members of the intelligence community. We believe that the creation of a single command and control-type structure will further contribute to our efforts to build a professional intelligence service to better serve the South African public," he says.
This is not reassuring, given that Shaik and Njenje were embroiled in the ANC's succession battle, and the latter was suspended for "unlawful" surveillance of businessman Saki Macozoma. He was later cleared.
Other security structures battered by the ruling party's power struggle are also facing organisational reforms, with changes at the top.
Zuma brought in Cele to head and shake up the police service, but there is little emphasis on policy review.
For example, this correspondent asked Zuma - during the announcement of Cele's appointment - about a cabinet proposal for a criminal justice co-ordinator to synchronise the work of this cluster.
Zuma dismissed the idea of having a "commissar".
However, to his credit, Zuma reassured the nation that he would continue with the review of the criminal justice system initiated by Mbeki.
Justice spokesman Tlali Tlali confirms his minister, Jeff Radebe - who is now driving the review - will announce its progress next week.
Meanwhile, there is a likely shake-up in the leadership of the SA National Defence Force as General Godfrey Ngwenya - who refused to comment on his career move this week - turns 60 next year.
The administration's restructuring of security structure - if not carefully considered - could end up with new top security chiefs operating within the same old problematic system.