Opening the ministerial session of the SA-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on defence and security in Vanderbijlpark, he said a regime change was one of the "external threats" faced by countries in the region. "We need to share information and intelligence on activities in this area. Working together our reach stretches much further," Lekota said.

His Zimbabwean counterpart Sydney Sekeramayi then singled out Britain, calling the former colonial power the chief architect of the regime change agenda in his country.
Sekeramayi thanked President Thabo Mbeki for facilitating talks between the ruling Zanu PF party and opposition MDC in Zimbabwe.

"It would not come as a surprise if Britain, the chief architect of regime change in Zimbabwe, makes a last ditch attempt at derailing the talks," he said. Sekeramayi said the talks were progressing well.

Lekota urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to use its influence in the African Union to sway other countries on the continent to its stance on the newly established United States African Command known as Africom.
"We have also have to manage Africom, which threatens our
sovereignty, " Lekota said.

He also warned of the "growing danger" of private security
companies."This is a complex area because it's difficult to legislate against it. We need to share information so that we can at least keep an eye on what these companies are doing," he said.

The meeting of the SA-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on defence and security would also look at security issues, such as cross border crime, illegal immigrants and preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.