Apart from the ongoing 2019 coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Republic is facing dynamic and uncertain changes in the new year.
Part of the looming threat is organised criminality by some elements of the state, violent extremism and internal terrorism. To put it bluntly, SA has a serious security problem which is a ticking time bomb.
By security, the definition is limited to national security, extending to human security. National security is inseparably linked to human security and any compromises would have serious consequences. Perhaps what we see with the recent parliament fire is just only the beginning, just like the July riots which saw more than 300 people killed in the midst of mass looting and property destruction.
There have been different instances of security breaches in parliament which are shockingly disappointing and alarming. They include break-ins at offices of members of parliament, cable thefts and smuggling in of a weapon which culminated in the suicide of a senior manager.
More questions arise as to the safety of national key points, state assets and secrets, persons in general, art and historical archives, some of which are housed in the parliamentary complex. The usual excuses are that close circuit television cameras (CCTV) were dysfunctional, switched off or unmonitored.
A suspect has been arrested for housebreaking, theft, arson and possession of an explosive device in the parliamentary complex. However, the arrest has not brought about much change as investigations are ongoing but there is no clarity, more questions than answers remain as usual.
The department of justice and constitutional development was also hacked via ransomware while the state-owned company Transnet also suffered a cyber attack after the July riots. The attacks are not only on political-bureaucratic institutions as the National Space Agency was hacked in a cyber attack which compromised personal details of former students.
The State Security Agency (SSA), which is now housed under the presidency, has not released any statement or acknowledgement of the current security situation in the country.
It would have been appropriate for an authorised entity or official in the justice, crime prevention and security (JCPS) cluster to give timeous and accurate updates to the public as “we are still investigating” shows a serious flaw of the security system. There is unwarranted secrecy which is not in the interest of national or human security, and instead is based on political manoeuverings.
There is also the problem of denialism, downplaying and whitewashing incidents. It is one thing for the authorities to have a need to know about details in-depth, but it is gravely concerning and problematic when citizens are not kept in the loop at all.
Even with mere details such as the motives and identities of instigators involved in the July riots, the cyber attacks, sabotage of rail infrastructure, theft of monies and documents from national key points such as parliament, the SSA, the office of the chief justice (the judiciary).
The JCPS and its entities do not need to reveal operational details but have an obligation to be transparent, especially on how investigations and prosecutions have been concluded. At the moment, such efforts are nil.
The paradox of it all is that SA is a stable democracy with its challenges, but the actions of most of state institutions and authorities undermine democratic governance, service delivery, safety and security of citizens.
The SSA rejected the official opposition party, the DA, access to intelligence reports about the July riots. In a rebuttal to the DA’s accusations of unwarranted super secrecy, SSA spokesperson Mava Scott argued that presidential and parliamentary processes are still under way and declassifying this information at an early stage would result in a “contamination” of processes.
However, this still seems reactionary as the lingering question is: where was intelligence to prevent or minimise the unrest? It is not enough to suggest that the situation was controlled by security intervention (including the military’s involvement) as this is reactionary. It speaks volumes about the JCPS cluster’s capacity, effectiveness and the security of the state and its citizens. Bluntly speaking, SA is consistently being caught with its pants down when it comes to its security challenges and threats.
A dangerous precedent is being set because there are no properly documented prosecutions and handling of rogue high-profile persons who commit treason against the state. It is a free-for-all which has enabled faceless actors to commit acts of sabotage and undermine the stability of the state.
SA cannot afford to plunge into a civil war, insurgency or full-scale terrorism.
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