Abuses At South Africa’s Spy Agency Show Poor Governance. There Are Solutions

MOSES B. KHANYILE

EARLIER this year allegations of widespread financial irregularities and distortion of the mandate of South Africa’s State Security Agency were made at the judicial commission on grand corruption. The agency is responsible for collecting intelligence on domestic and foreign threats to the country.

The allegations point to a complete breakdown of corporate governance. They have serious implications for the agency’s operational performance, matters of national trust, reputation and international intelligence sharing arrangements.

Corporate governance is essentially about ensuring accountability in how an entity conducts its work and uses its resources to achieve its goal. Internal controls must be in place and auditable.

What shocked South Africans was not only the large amounts of money involved, but the relative ease with which the money could be obtained and spent.

Sound corporate governance dictates that mechanisms should have been in place to ensure continuous accountability, at all levels of