The African Transformation Movement (ATM) and ActionSA have expressed concern over the country’s police intelligence that is often caught off guard when it comes to detecting illegal activities following the discovery of a bogus military training camp in Mpumalanga.

POLITICAL PARTY REACTIONS 

The parties were reacting to the discovery of an illegal military camp in Mpumalanga which led to the arrest of 95 Libyan nationals by the South African police service. ATM National spokesperson Zama Ntshona said the country’s intelligence has failed to detect illegal activities .

"The intelligence of this country is truly found wanting in instances of this nature. Last year we were grey listed and that did not really look good for us as a country, and that actually makes this even worse. If you look at the financial action task force that grey listed us in 2023, one of the issues that were picked up was the issue that there is money that is going out of the country to the tune of three billion and it is financing terrorist groups,"said Ntshona.

CONCERNED

Meanwhile ActionSA expressed deep concern over domestic intelligence failures in South Africa over the past week, including a Mexican national who was arrested for a R2 billion drug manufacturing lab.

Over the past few weeks, I have highlighted how President Cyril "Ramaphosa has, in his seven years, in office failed to reform the intelligence services as he repeatedly promised to do, and instead, key positions in our intelligence services remain unfilled while reforms to split the intelligence service into a foreign and domestic branch have yet to be implemented," said ActionSA President Herman Mashaba.

Mashaba said the fact that 95 Libyans were allowed to undergo military training and a drug manufacturing facility was permitted for many years highlights, again, the breakdown in intelligence services in South Africa.

"As a party that respects the rule of law, ActionSA further expressed concerns over reports that those apprehended will be deported instead of facing trial in South Africa. We are adamant that South Africans deserve to know the truth, and therefore call on the South African government to force those arrested to stand trial in South Africa and face the full might of our law.

For us to reform our intelligence services, ActionSA believes the recommendations of the High-Level Report into The State Security Agency (SSA) should be implemented, an intelligence inspectorate be established and political interference in our intelligence be limited. This is essential to protect South Africans and fight the proliferation of criminal syndicates operating in the country,"said Mashaba.