SA must strengthen its defence policies

WILLIAM Gumede’s succinct, matter-of-fact piece in last week’s Sunday Tribune, “SA needs to take hard look at intelligence institutions” impressed me immensely.

To the ordinary citizen, the machinations of the State Security Agency (SSA) mean little, yet it forms a critical aspect of any country’s defence, more so in this day and age.

South Africa’s intelligence has been catapulted into the spotlight with revelations of secret documents being leaked to Al Jazeera. This becomes crucial in terms of the possibility of “terrorist” groups using the country as a springboard for violent attacks the world over.

Gumede, however, delves into a very important aspect of our intelligence when he addresses leadership and the internal disparities that diminish patriotism, which inevitably lays bare the possibilities of sabotaging the democratic ideals and internal stability which then translates into opening up external weaknesses.

It becomes a mammoth task for any security agency when there is corruption within its borders from the very people entrusted to govern it. The comparatives between loyalty and disloyalty assumes a serious aspect when those whose vision for a country is consumed by personal avarice and enrichment.

This then becomes ominous as there will be people who will sell their souls, if the price is right, in lieu of their patriotic duty of protecting their motherland.

We are therefore confronted by a dilemma. The internal enemy, which is very real, all things considered, and the external enemy – with the threat of al-Qaeda having militant jihadists habituating our shores as a safe haven for their nefarious plots.

Unlike the West and Europe, which is under constant threat, South Africa was “relatively” safe from any outside threat. The bubble, it seems, is about to burst and the watchdogs of our defence need to up their game exponentially.

As citizens, it is imperative that we demand from the state the necessary protection and unless the government and its security agency gets ultra proactive in terms of security, we may be on the brink of facing a disaster that we never anticipated or imagined and any perceived threats now becomes very, very real.

NARENDH GANESH

Durban North