Johnathan Paoli
The Congress of the South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has called upon the National Council of Province’s ad hoc committee on intelligence to amend the recent General Intelligence Laws Amendment bill to make findings of the head of Intelligence legally binding.
The union federation’s spokesperson Matthew Parks made submissions to NCOP on Tuesday and said that in light of the IG’s crucial role in holding intelligence agencies accountable, the institution needed more muscle.
Inspector-General of Intelligence Imtiaz Fazel briefed the National Assembly’s ad hoc committee in December last year and said that his findings were not binding, which some have claimed led to intelligence agencies failing to act on them.
Parks criticised the NA for its failure to insert this clause during their amendment of the controversial bill.
The spokesperson called on the NCOP to act on the proposal and ensure that the findings of the IG were in fact legally binding, which would result in intelligence gathering agencies being effectively held accountable.
“We think the findings of the Inspector-General should be made binding upon security organs,” Parks said.
He said Cosatu was pleased that Parliament had removed a controversial clause that churches and NGOs would have to be vetted before they are registered.
Parks said that in the past there have been abuses of intelligence services, but hopes that there would be a return to good governance going forward.
Chairperson of the ad hoc committee Jerome Maake previously said that the bill is expected to address shortcomings in the intelligence gathering services and would be influenced by case law and reports, including the Zondo Commission on state capture.
Parliament approved the bill, with House chairperson Madala Ntombela referring it to NCOP.
The bill is expected to transform the State Security Agency into two separate units, namely the South African Intelligence Service and the South African Intelligence Agency.
Maake said that the establishment of the SSA in 2009 was highly irregular and that the new bill sought to implement the recommendations of the High Level Review Panel by undoing the SSA and creating distinct domestic and foreign intelligence service, with the aim to create enhance accountability, compliance with Constitutional court judgements and regulation of services.
Opposition parties have supported the introduction of the bill, and praised its efficiency as it has addressed some of the crucial issues concerning intelligence-gathering services.
However both the DA and the EFF have expressed their concerns regarding the “rushing through” of the legislation.
DA Member of Parliament Dianne Kohler supported the bill but said that it was “rammed through the parliamentary process”.
Kohler highlighted the manner in which the Cabinet acted without regard in pushing legislation which would result in the vetting of churches and non-governmental organisations, which resulted in a drastic removal of the controversial clauses.
She said that the bill sought to reverse “egregious activities” of the past “when domestic and foreign intelligence had been irregularly lumped together”, which led, she claims, to the formation of the SSA.
EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said that while they supported the bill, they were perturbed by rushing the bill through parliament.
“You wait until the final hour in terms of this term of office for the bill of this magnitude, rushed through processes at the time of serious electoral contestation is opportunistic to say the least,” Ndlozi said.
Ndlozi acknowledged, however, the need for the securing of the autonomy of the IG in line with strengthening the oversight responsibilities of the country’s spies and that he welcomed the fact that the SSA would be split into domestic and foreign branches.
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