Issued by: SA Communication Service
PRESS STATEMENT: DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTELLIGENCE SERVICES AND THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE NIA.
January 4 1996
TOPIC: NIA ALLEGED SPYING ON SA POLICE TOP BRASS
1. The rumours or allegations reported in The Star Newspaper today concerning the alleged involvement of the NIA in the spying on the top brass of the SAP and on the National Police Commissioner in particular have been in circulation for some weeks.
2.1 On hearing of these rumours Mr JM Nhlanhla, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence Services instructed Mr Moe Shaik from the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC) to inform the National Police Commissioner George Fivaz of such rumours and of the non-involvement of the NIA in such alleged activities.
2.2 During such consultations, the National Commissioner indicated his prior knowledge of the said allegations, discounting them as been baseless and iterated his rejection of them. Both the National Commissioner and Mr Shaik concluded that such allegations were unfounded, nonsensical and mischief-making in the extreme. It was further agreed that these allegations would be best handled if they were to be treated as a non-issue in lieu of the country's more pressing security threats.
2.3 Further, Deputy Minister Nhlanhla, contacted the Minister of Safety and Security Mr Sydney Mafumadi, informing him of these rumours and stated the categorical non-involvement of the NIA in such allegations. The Minister accepted the bona vides of the NIA.
2.4 In addition, Deputy Minister Nhlanhla took confidence in the existence of an Agreement between himself and the National Commissioner to urgently convene at a bilateral level whenever the need should so arise.
In light of the above, we are therefore surprised at the sensational reporting of these rumours. Once again, we state for the record that the NIA is not involved in any spying operations against the top management of the SAPS in general and or the National Police Commissioner in particular. Further, we state that Mr Dirk Coetzee has neither received instructions by the NIA to this effect nor is he involved in any such investigations. We therefore reject any insinuations to this effect as nothing more then mischief-making.
3 In our rejection of such allegations directed against the NIA and in the knowledge of the existence of a range of different intelligence structures in the country both public and private, we pose the following questions:
4.1 On what basis can the alleged listening devices found in the offices of the SAPS be attributed without any investigation to any other governmental department and in particular to the NIA?
4.2 On what basis can the alleged surveillance of provincial commissioners be attributed to the NIA? How do unknown persons become the NIA?
4.3 Why has no effect counter-measures put in place to apprehend those involved in such alleged surveillance activities to establish their identities and mission?
4.4 Has the information in the possession of the investigative unit of Independent Newspapers been subjected to investigation in order to establish its creditability and reliability?
4.5 It is a common intelligence practice, tried and tested through decades of confirmation, that in the event of a discovery of intrusions such as those reported in this article that suspicion of responsibility falls firstly and foremostly on those from within the penetrated internal environment. Why was this possibility, without investigation so quickly rejected?
In the interest of the country and in the pursuance of the truth we are confident that the answers to these questions would expose the perpetrators of such acts, if any, and their intentions leaving the integrity of the NIA intact.
5. The Ministry of Intelligence and the NIA is at one with the National Commissioner in his view that "all our energies are supposed to be concentrated on fighting threats to South Africa's security - not each other".
In this regard the National Commissioner can rest assured that in our collective efforts to combat such threats the civilian intelligence agencies shall not be found wanting and nor shall there be a wastage of tax-payers monies in the pursuit of the NIA's legitimate mission and tasks.
6. We are confident that the mechanisms of cooperation between and amongst the various security agencies as reflected in the National Strategic Intelligence Act are sufficient to facilitate our common efforts to focus attention on the real threats facing our country. In this regard The Record of Understanding between the NIA and the SAPS bears testimony to the good working relationship enjoyed by both these services.
7. We are equally confident that these mechanisms such as the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee is sufficiently strong to effectively resolve whatever misunderstanding that may arise from time to time between and amongst such services. It is precisely for the purpose of common good, the removal of duplication and for the promotion of cost efficiency amongst the security services NICOC as the coordinating mechanism has been established.
8. The Ministry and the NIA will do everything necessary to frustrate any attempts to create divisions between the security services to act as a united and effective force.
9. The Ministry of Intelligence pledges to continue in its efforts to ensure that all covert, dirty tricks and misinformation structures directed against South Africa's new democratic order and against the efforts of the people of this country to become a united, prosperous and secure nation be dismantled and exposed without favour or fear.
10. In the interest of greater cooperation and efficiency amongst the security services of this country and in the resolution of this issue the Deputy President, Mr T Mbeki after consultation with the Deputy Minister Nhlanhla has agreed to convene on his return to office a meeting of, amongst others, Minister D Omar, Minister S Mafumadi, Deputy Minister Nhlanhla, Commissioner Fivaz, Mr A Cachalia and the Director General of the NIA, Dr S Sigxashe.
We are confident that such a meeting would contribute to the strengthening of the relationship amongst the security services thereby enhancing our common efforts to effectively combat the pressing security issues facing our country.