Why Cyril remained mum on spy report

Keeping the fractured ANC intact and maintaining the balance of power has turned President Cyril Ramaphosa into “a snail stuck in oil”, according to analysts, rendering his “new dawn” a pipe dream as demonstrated by his failure to act on the chilling findings of the inquiry into State Security Agency (SSA).

The president received the high-level review panel on the SSA’s report in March 2019, but no action has been taken against those implicated in a decade of looting and using the agency for private and political interests.

When he came to power in 2017, Ramaphosa brought a sense of hope in the rule of law and bringing the guilty to book.

But Institute for Security Studies (ISS) senior researcher Dr Jakkie Cilliers said because he scored a narrow victory in Nasrec, Ramaphosa was now hamstrung.

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Cilliers said the reason Ramaphosa had not acted on the SSA report was because support within the ANC was not sufficient for him to be able to act decisively.

He said this was demonstrated by Intelligence Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, a Zuma loyalist, trying to stop director-general Loyiso Jafta from testifying at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

“The biggest threat to Ramaphosa as a leader of ANC is not factionalism within the ANC, but maintaining unity because if the ANC splits, it loses power,” he said.

“The instruments that he is supposed to use to pursue those that have done wrong have been hollowed out.”

Cilliers said this focus in maintaining unity within the hugely divided ruling party meant that Ramaphosa had to accommodate the Zuma faction within the party and security apparatus he was supposed to clean up.

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He said the president’s lack of action was also that he was not himself seen to be vindictive, avoiding a split that could result in the ruling party losing power.

Cilliers added that this was why it was not surprising that Ramaphosa appointed David Mahlobo, the former intelligence minister implicated in the SSA report, as deputy minister of human settlements.

Sydney Mufamadi, who chaired the high-level review panel on SSA, last week detailed to the commission how there has been a growing politicisation and factionalisation of the civilian intelligence community based on the factions in the ANC.

On Monday, he told The Citizen that questions should be directed to Ramaphosa’s office as the panel’s responsibility ended with the submission of the report.

Ramaphosa’s spokesman Tyrone Seale has yet to comment.

– siphom@citizen.co.za

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