Dismissive reply from JSCI on the "spy cable" scandal is not good enough
2 March 2015
I have written to the Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI), Connie September, taking her to task over what amounts to a perfunctory and dismissive reply to my request for a briefing on the "spy cables" scandal to the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
On 24 February 2015 I wrote to the Chairperson requesting her to:
Schedule an urgent briefing by the Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo, on the "spy cables" scandal; and
To table and make public a special report, in terms of Section 6 (2) of the Intelligence Oversight Act (No. 40 of 1994), on the "spy cable" scandal in Parliament.
The reply to my letter, received on 27 February 2014, was dismissive and perfunctory, simply stating:
"I am confident that the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) would and are well equipped to deal with any matters it so desires."
This is not good enough.
The Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence must act and must act fast to deal with what could be the largest and most damaging leak of classified information from the State Security Agency (SSA) in twenty years.
I have, therefore, written back to the Chairperson requesting her to act by:
Scheduling an urgent briefing by the Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo, on the "spy cables" scandal;
Conducting a separate and independent investigation into the "spy cables" scandal focusing on, but not necessarily confined to, whether there was any wrongdoing on the part of the State Security Agency; and
Tabling and making public a special report, in terms of Section 6 (2) of the Intelligence Oversight Act (No. 40 of 1994), in Parliament.
It's imperative that the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence conducts a separate and independent investigation to at least determine whether Non-Governmental Organisations and activists were illegally placed under surveillance by the SSA.
Statement issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of State Security, March 2 2015
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
