Ramaphosa needs to fix our security services — without delay
At the height of global controversy about whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, South Africa became a central cog in efforts to counter the US-sponsored narrative that it did. The administration of the time, led by Thabo Mbeki, was pushing an African renaissance agenda that earned the country gravitas in global affairs.
When South Africa, with confidence, said Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, the world paid attention. Today, not only has the country lost the ear of the world on global security issues, it has lost the confidence that many citizens had in our criminal justice cluster in general and our intelligence services in particular.
And so it is that when US spies say there is a terror threat in Sandton, South Africa’s economic centre and home to the US consulate, ordinary people are inclined to believe the foreigners rather than our own security chiefs. It is an indictment not just of the practitioners of espionage, but also of those who are supposed to provide the leadership necessary to engender this confidence.
Truth be told, our spies have been up to mischief. The state capture inquiry report stands as evidence of how our intelligence machinery was suborned to serve corrupt politicians’ interests rather than be a bulwark against malfeasance and corruption. That our spooks — along with the police and military — were caught flat-footed by rioters in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, whose activities were telegraphed to all and sundry, may have eroded the smidgen of confidence left among South
Africans. The question many ask themselves is whether subsequent recommendations — which seemed fairly useful
— about restructuring and weeding out bad apples within the security structures have been implemented. Or is it business as usual?
While we accept that espionage is premised on secrecy and no-one could reasonably require operational details to be made public, what is necessary is public confidence that our leaders know what they are talking about, especially with regard to security matters. Not vacuous platitudes but a demonstration of confidence that manifests in the guidance given to citizens. In this case the question uppermost in people’s minds was whether it was safe to go shopping in
Sandton this weekend.
When the US ambassador publicly urges Americans to avoid Sandton, is it expecting too much for the South African authorities to be unequivocal on the issue — much as the Mbeki administration made its view known regarding the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? A wishy-washy response creates an impression that our government is groping in the dark and hoping we survive threats by sheer luck.
It is important for our country to get its act together. The world, not just Sandton this weekend, is a dangerous place. It’s worse when your government seems clueless. It is an oft-told truth that information is power.
With a dysfunctional spy agency such as ours, our understanding of looming national threats will be compromised, especially given our counterinsurgency involvement in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique.
As the nation holds its breath this weekend, wondering if the worst will happen, the head of the foreign branch of the State Security Agency, Robert McBride, is on suspension for a bungled mission to Mozambique. Perhaps it’s a good thing that the nation is saved from more of his bungles. But surely it is untenable that South Africa is facing external threats to its security and the external spy boss is on suspension. It seems trite, but we need stability in our intelligence structures.
What is required is leadership. President Cyril Ramaphosa is exceedingly slow to act on many things. The security of the state and its citizens should not be one of them.
People are inclined to believe foreigners rather than our own security chiefs