ANC choice for spook boss will help Zuma capture state‚ says DA

The Democratic Alliance said on Monday that it would not support the ANC’s choice of candidate for the appointment of a new Inspector-General of Intelligence‚ saying their choice was and “ANC cadre mandated to aide President Zuma’s continued campaign of state capture”.

In a statement released by the party‚ the DA’s chief whip John Steenhuisen said he had received a letter from the Speaker of Paliament‚ Baleka Mbete‚ calling on “the opposition to support former ANC MP and ‘Secrecy Bill’ author‚ Cecil Burgess’ appointment as South Africa’s new Inspector-General of Intelligence (IGI)”.

“Known as the architect of the 'Secrecy Bill' and author of a ‘whitewashed’ report on ‘Nkandlagate’‚ Burgess simply cannot be trusted with the transparency and accountability of our country’s Crime Intelligence‚ Defence Intelligence and other state security apparatuses - which have already been abused for political purposes both inside and outside of the ANC‚” said Steenhuisen.

The position has been vacant for more than a year‚ and Steenhuisen blamed the ANC’s “refusal to restart the recommendation process and work with the opposition to find a suitable candidate whom all parties can support”

He said Mbete “clearly has a bias and should recuse herself from Wednesday vote”.

“The DA’s opposition to Burgess’s proposed appointment is clear‚ and we will not buckle to Mbete’s bullying.”