This over the past decade or more that has resulted in an almost complete disregard for the Constitution, policy, legislation, and other prescripts, the presidency said on Saturday.

"President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the publication of the report of the high level review panel on the State Security Agency (SSA), which has assessed the mandate, capacity, and organisational integrity of the agency," the presidency said in a statement.

"A key finding of the panel is that there has been political malpurposing and factionalisation of the intelligence community over the past decade or more that has resulted in an almost complete disregard for the Constitution, policy, legislation, and other prescripts," the presidency said.

"It proposes the urgent development of a national security strategy as an overriding basis for redefining and refining the concepts, values, policies, practices, and architecture involved in South Africa’s approach to security. This review should consider the separation of the SSA into two services – a domestic and a foreign service – with prudent delineation of scope," it said.

With regard to investigations and consequences, the panel recommended that the president instruct the appropriate law enforcement bodies, oversight institutions, and internal disciplinary bodies to investigate all manifest breaches of the law, regulations, and other prescripts in the SSA as highlighted by the report of the panel, with a view to instituting, where appropriate, criminal prosecution and/or disciplinary proceedings.

Ramaphosa had expressed his appreciation for the panel’s dedication to their task and for producing insights and recommendations that would enable open engagement on the role and character of the intelligence community in support of South Africa’s national development objectives and international relations.

The report had been redacted for public consumption in view of the fact that the full report contained the names and identities of persons who could not be named at this point, as well as details of operational matters that would compromise the work of the SSA, the presidency said.

The presidency had shared the report with a range of stakeholders, including State Security Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, the Inspector General of Intelligence Setlhomamaru Dintwe, and parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence.

The  review panel was appointed in June 2018 to assess the structure of the SSA relative to its mandate and inquire into its systems and capacity. Ramaphosa asked the panel to identify all material factors that contributed to current problems in the SSA so that appropriate measures could be instituted to prevent a recurrence, the statement said.

The main objective of the review panel was to assist in ensuring a responsible and accountable national intelligence capability for the country in line with the Constitution and relevant legislation.

At a gathering with the SSA leadership and staff in Pretoria on February 15, Ramaphosa gave an undertaking that the report of the review panel would be published for the benefit of all South Africans, including the intelligence community. The report would also be the subject of engagement with parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence, the inspector general of intelligence, and the auditor general.

The panel was chaired by former cabinet minister Sydney Mufamadi and included nine other members with a wide range of senior level experience and expertise in law, security studies, civil society, academia, the intelligence and security community, and other arms of government. The panel comprised of Mufamadi, Professor Jane Duncan, Barry Gilder, Siphokazi Magadla, Murray Michell, Basetsana Molebatsi, Andre Pruis, Silumko Sokupa, Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, and Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo.

African News Agency (ANA)