POLITICS

SA Defence Intelligence: Call for criminal charges - EFF

Fighters say gross corruption in upgrading of facilities by DPW reported by The Star

EFF statement on corruption and looting by SA Defence Intelligence

14 February 2021

The EFF calls on criminal charges to brought against all those who are involved in the corruption and looting within the South African Defence Intelligence. Today, The Star newspaper revealed massive misappropriation of funds to the value of more than R4 billion over the last three years in intricate corruption deals involving top generals of the South African Defence Intelligence.

In an internal report that never saw the light of day, either in parliament or law enforcement, gross corruption in upgrading of facilities by Department of Public works was reported. Including a tender for cyber security training to the value of R55 million was approved without any due diligence. The report also found top personnel within Defence Intelligence who attained fake security clearances, with some holding criminal records.

Most importantly, an IT company received a slush fund of over R40 million to secretly manage the Beitbridge Boarder Arms safety program meant to monitor criminals entering South Africa. There is no evidence of it ever functioning or providing any results. This program required intensive training of which there is no evidence of it ever occurring.

It is a crime not to report corruption. In fact, if Minister of Defence, Nosiviwe Nqakula did nothing following the revelations of the report, she will be guilty of defeating the ends of justice. She is obliged to subject all who are accused of corruption to criminal investigation and prosecution.

The EFF has been consistent that intelligence services in South Africa are engaged in massive looting without any accountability. The privilege of secrecy is used to masquerade self-enrichment, incompetence and deliberate corruption.

Through our work in the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, we shall demand publication of this report and for all implicated persons to be criminally charged and jailed.

It is a fact that little to no intelligence work is happening across all intelligence divisions in the Military, SAPS as well as SSA. Intelligence networks, foreign and domestic, are well aware of the utter defencelessness of South Africa. This is due to the complete collapse and dysfunctionality suffered by our Intelligence security divisions.

Above all, the resistance to rigorous financial auditing by the Office of the Auditor General over South Africa's Intelligence divisions is the key reason for the inability to uncover massive corruption. The office of the Inspector General for Intelligence is also largely incapacitated and at times unable to subject these divisions to scrutiny. Without corruption being uncovered, subjected to criminal and prosecutorial process, it will never end.

Issued by Vuyani Pambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 14 February 2021