COSATU, DA and EFF vote for increased authority for the Inspector General of Intelligence

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