We need to probe lapses at SSA and how it manifested, says Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa has been asked to explain lapses in state security over recent years, including a recent stand-off between the Investigating Directorate (ID) and the State Security Agency (SSA) at an attempted raid in Pretoria.
Ramaphosa, who’s appearing before the commission of inquiry into state capture, has committed to ensuring that all the issues raised at the commission were followed up on.
Advocate Paul Pretorius is questioning the president on the state of the ministry, which Ramaphosa has just collapsed as he’s moved the security agency under his office.
The president said that while he could not pinpoint the standoff at the Musanda complex, which saw intelligence operatives refusing the office of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) permission to access documents, the president said that several issues in intelligence needed to be investigated, right up to its role in last month’s attempted insurrection.
“There was a lapse and we now need to investigate that and find out how it happened and how it manifested itself and from a certain beginning right up until what happened in July.”
Earlier, President Ramaphosa said that the outsourcing of services weakened the state and contributed to the looting of SOEs through overpricing.
Ramaphosa told the Zondo commission that sometimes the government had to pay a premium for services, with SOEs paying more because of kickbacks.
The president was giving evidence at the state capture commission on Thursday morning on Transnet-related evidence.
“Outsourcing weakens the state, it denudes the state of capability. One of the challenges we’re facing now is that the state has been so weakened that one of our efforts is to strengthen the capacity of the state.”
Ramaphosa also said that key people were strategically placed to fully capture the state.
-EWN
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