OPINIONISTA: As xenophobia spreads and crime spirals, where are the South African intelligence agencies?

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If the justice, crime prevention and security cluster is serious about curbing illegal acts, our intelligence agencies need to up their game. We have a security problem that needs to be solved in order to avoid deep-rooted xenophobia.

If this was the United States, or any other country that takes its security seriously, we would see arrests and successful prosecutions. Normal states inform their citizens about security threats and measures being taken, but in South Africa everything is buried in deep secrecy. Perhaps secrecy could be justified if our intelligence agencies had a track record of dealing with threats.

loyalty shifted towards the government and the elite establishment. The SSA and other agencies were no longer protecting citizens, but kleptocrats in government and business. In addition, the lack of action over misinformation and disinformation is concerning, given the threat it poses to national security. With their capabilities through legislation, methods and technologies, one wonders why our agencies do not act on fake newsthat fuel xenophobia have not been arrested. Instead, journalists have had to step in to expose these accounts that are fuelling violence and even a potential civil war.

The disinformation around xenophobia is being driven by politicians who welcome the deflection from societal issues such as poverty, lack of service delivery and crime. Perhaps the goal is to distract us. Voila! The problem becomes “foreigners” rather than the government’s incompetence. It is no secret that our intelligence agencies have always been used for political purposes, even in this post-apartheid era.

Public trust in the police and intelligence agencies is almost non-existent. There needs to be transparency in the aftermath of operations. It’s only through communicating openly with the public that we can get a sense they are doing what they should be doing.

 

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