Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA), the country’s official opposition has called for the sacking of the minister of police Bheki Cele and his public administration counterpart, Ayanda Dlodlo following damning findings by the expert panel that looked into the government’s response to the July 2021 unrest which claimed hundreds of lives.
The unrest that took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng claimed more than 300 lives and saw the economy lose more than R50 billion and countless jobs lost as the two economic hubs saw unprecedented looting and destruction to property.
The panel, headed by intelligence veteran Sandy Africa on Monday recommended that the cabinet must take overall responsibility for the events of July 2021.
“It (cabinet) must drive a national response plan that demonstrates its own willingness to be held accountable and to hold the public office bearers who failed in their responsibilities to account. It must give regular feedback on what is happening to ensure that those who planned and instigated the violence are being brought to book,” one of the recommendations of the panel read.
The DA in response to the release of the report said it was not impressed by the way the government handled the unrest.
“The response by SAPS and Intelligence was shockingly slow, inappropriate, and insufficient,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen in a statement.
According to Steenhuisen, the men in blue failed to carry out their fundamental role to protect life and property. He further urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Cele and then Minister of intelligence, Dlodlo.
“This incapacity to deliver on mandate is the inevitable result of the ANC’s decades-long policy of cadre deployment, which the DA has warned about for two decades now. At the very least, Minister of Police Bheki Cele and then Minister of Intelligence Ayanda Dlodlo must be dropped from Cabinet immediately and entirely. In a functional democracy, their heads would have rolled long ago,” Steenhuisen said.
For this reason, Steenhuisen says the report is evidence that state security should be removed from the Presidency and be independent.
“This report contains more than enough evidence for why an independent, credible and accountable state security apparatus is essential. The State Security Agency must be removed from the presidency and reformed as per the recommendations of the 2018 High-Level Review Panel report into the State Security Agency, which has mostly been collecting dust till now,” he said.
Ramaphosa reacted to the unrest (in August last year) by announcing sweeping changes to his cabinet, particularly the justice cluster removing state security minister Dlodlo and defense counterpart Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
The president then moved state security under the wing of the Presidency. Last month, Ramaphosa tapped his ally Mondli Gungubele as the political head of the intelligence services.
Also read: Report into the July 2021 unrest point to “spectacular” government failure
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