circles
Marion Edmunds
Tension is rising between the intelligence services and their parliamentary watchdog, the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, over the government’s bungling of the appointment of the country’s first inspector general, Louis Skweyiya.
As government officials and parliamentarians cast around to find a scapegoat for Skweyiya’s premature resignation – before he had even begun the job – the intelligence services are preparing to write a letter to the committee warning its members not to leak confidential information to the media.
Members are privy to government secrets but are under oath not to disclose them to the public. Senior sources in the intelligence services say they suspect a committee member has leaked the details of the Skweyiya debacle, as well as other confidential information, for party political gain, making it impossible for them to manage the salary problems and persuade him to stay in the post.
The sources say the intelligence services, which fall under the Ministry of Justice, had hoped to repair the damage caused by the clumsy salary negotiations and persuade Skweyiya to withdraw his resignation tendered on October 1 last year, four months after he was appointed by President Nelson Mandela.
Skweyiya says he will not withdraw his resignation because the matter was disclosed in the media and his appointment was unfairly politicised. Quoting anonymous sources, the media had accused Skweyiya of trying to negotiate a R1-million salary package, an allegation he has vehemently denied.
Skweyiya told the Mail & Guardian this week it was the government’s delay in defining his conditions and terms of service which finally led to his resignation. The intelligence services said in a press release final agreement on the package was not reached because the committee had rejected it.
An intelligence source said the package had been based on the salary of the public protector but had included an offer to convert a number of perks – such as medical aid contributions and aeroplane flights – into cash to boost the take-home salary.
The committee chair, Nosiviwe Mapisa- Nqakula, said this week she was outraged that the intelligence services were implying the committee had snarled up the negotiations. “Whatever hitches there were, they were not brought to our attention. I only heard last week through the media that Skweyiya had resigned. He did not send us a letter informing us he had resigned, and neither did the Ministry of Justice.
“The committee is being unfairly blamed. We are willing to discuss the issue, but we are not prepared to waste time on it, and we will decide when we meet whether or not we need to start head-hunting again.”
Mapisa-Nqakula said more than just salary negotiations had been under way. Skweyiya had also tried to negotiate for the office of the inspector general to be based in Cape Town, whereas the committee had been convinced he should be based in Pretoria with the intelligence services.