Minister in regime change warning

DEFENCE and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says it would be foolish for South Africa to think it wasn’t facing a regime-change threat.

Briefing the media before presenting her budget vote in Parliament yesterday, Mapisa-Nqakula recalled it was the late OR Tambo who had warned the ANC that if it was to be destabilised, it would be from within.

“If there is instability in the ANC, it is likely to impact negatively on our state. South Africa will be foolish to believe there is no threat,” she said in reply to a question.

She claimed that there were “sleepers” in South Africa.

“For some years now, we have had foreign intelligence services working hard here in an effort to destabilise the country,” she said.

Mapisa-Nqakula said South Africa was under threat of terrorism, like other countries on the con- tinent and in the world.

“We are part of a global village,” she added.

Mapisa-Nqakula made the comments almost two weeks after State Security Minister David Mahlobo reignited the debate on party funding, after he accused opposition parties of collaborating with foreign governments in a bid to topple the state.

Mahlobo said a number of foreign governments were using underhand tactics to remove the democratically elected government of South Africa.