Photo by [Business Live]
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Imtiaz Fazel as Inspector General of Intelligence for five years beginning from the 1st of November 2022.
As reported by The Citizen, Fazel was appointed to the position by President Ramaphosa following unanimous support by Members of Parliament in the National Assembly.
Fazel served as COO, at the level of Deputy Director-General, in the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and a former Deputy Director-General in the Office of the Director-General of the State Security Agency.
He obtained a Master’s Degree from the University of Pretoria, a Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree from the University of South Africa and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of the Western Cape.
According to the presidency, “Mr Fazel’s appointment is a continuation of the attention President Ramaphosa is giving to strengthening the capability of the state, including the security sector.”
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State of Intelligence in SA
In his new post, Fazel will monitor and review operations of the intelligence services, including the SSA, the Crime Intelligence Division of SAPS and the Defence Intelligence Division of SANDF.
Helmoed-Römer Heitman, a journalist, author and commentator on military affairs, said the intelligence divisions in South Africa had been misused and abused by the ruling party in recent years.
And due to their misconduct, security agencies have deteriorated. They ought to be more effective and efficient than they currently are. However, it does not imply they are entirely unproductive.
“The problem is not so much that our people are incompetent they aren’t. But the intelligence services and particularly the intelligence side of the police and the National Intelligence Service were badly misused for several years for party political stuff. That undermines them, it undermines their own self and image, it undermines their standing and undermines their capabilities and their abilities.”
As the Southern region of Africa becomes more dangerous and unstable due to conflict in Mozambique, terrorist threats and established criminal elements, foreign and domestic, effective intelligence services are of utmost importance.
The various agencies, therefore, need to go through a complete overhaul and be realigned for their intended purpose.
Primary Task
Heitman suggests the first thing Fazel needs to do is address the individuals responsible for misusing the SSA for political reasons and remove them.
He needs to address the inefficiencies of detecting dissemination to prevent and alert authorities in time to avoid situations such as last year’s July riots, which caused immense destruction.
He will also need to monitor the process of removing individuals involved in corruption and replace them with qualified and competent people, most notably those not affiliated with any political organisation or party.
At the same time, gather and analyse information on external and internal dangers and threats.
Heitman said, “He’s got three things to look at now and with some urgency. Because we’re in uncertain times, in an uncertain world.”
