Johannesburg - ANC NEC member and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu yesterday slammed the poor state of the country’s State Security Agency (SSA), which has suffered multiple lapses in recent years.
The SSA was moved into the President’s Office after last year’s July unrest.
Sisulu said this move did not make sense. It was confusing to have this crucial department led by people without expertise in the field.
She said the unrest was not handled well by the country’s intelligence.
During her exile from 1977 to 1979, she joined the military wing of the ANC, uMkhonto weSizwe, specialising in intelligence.
Sisulu said the first thing she would do as the country’s president, should she get into office, would be to improve the country’s intelligence, which had suffered immensely in recent years. “We do not want to reverse our gains. Intelligence is the underbelly of a democracy.
“Without effective intelligence, we are simply walking dead. It is a very delicate area which hits sensitive spots and needs someone who knows how intelligence works. It is far more important and superior than other spheres of government including the economy.”
Sisulu said the country was able to avert attacks within and outside owing to effective intelligence structures. “We were able to intervene and stop the wars in other African countries because of our intelligence, and we have not been able to reproduce that.
“One thing that needs to be done is to revamp our intelligence.”
Sisulu’s comments come after the country was put on high alert after the US embassy in South Africa issued a warning of a possible terrorist attack in Sandton last weekend and warned US citizens to steer clear of the area and crowds. Many, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, slammed the US for this debacle.
Sisulu said this important lever of government should be protected and strengthened to ensure the country does not reverse its gains, having had a leading intelligence unit after 1994.
“We have reduced our intelligence. We once had a credible intelligence service. In exile, our biggest threat was attack and infiltration, so we made sure we had proper education for those protecting the ANC in exile. We headed a very well-trained intelligence structure which took over when we got back to the country.”
Sisulu said the US had no business issuing a terrorism threat and it should have been raised within the structures between the two countries.
One Phala Phala, Sisulu said despite efforts to force the president to account via the Section 89 Independent Panel to investigate possible constitutional breaches and misconduct, the president should have recused himself.
“This kind of thing indicates the state of our country and democracy. It should have been dealt with by our authorities and our institutions such as SARB … ”
The Star