The response to a request to investigate the source of the so-called Spy Cables has been described as perfunctory.
David Maynier, Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, has 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”, he says.
On 24 February 2015, Maynier 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 (number 40 of 1994), on the “spy cable” scandal in Parliament.
The reply to the letter, received on27 February 2014, has been described as dismissive and perfunctory, 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.”
Maynier comments: “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 20 years.”
He has 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,” Maynier says.
* Follow the Spy Cables saga on African Defence Review (www.africandefence.net).
