The so called ANC exile bloc together with former apartheid security officials are allegedly pushing back State Security Agency (SSA) Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni’s plan to restructure the agency.
Ntshavheni’s restructuring plan will result in a multitude of spent forces being retrenched and replaced with fresh blood to strengthen the agency’s capacity.
The minister ‘s allies have identified these two groups within the agency as the propagators of false information claiming that the agency will collapse if the restructuring is implemented, saying it will denude it of experience and expertise.
Insiders supporting the minister’s plan, which would likely result in the voluntary layoff of hundreds of spooks over 50 years old, said the aim is to professionalise the agency.
Despite the push back and mounting criticism, the SSA has maintained a tight-lipped stance, refraining from public comments while forging ahead with the plan to remove the veterans from the agency.
This has angered the ANC exile group and the former apartheid security officials, who have been actively trying to block the changes. “The apartheid security officials, who are white, even tried playing the race card, but it did not work out,” disclosed an insider.
The insider said that SSA leadership dismissed the group’s various tactics as unfounded.
The restructuring initiative is not a new directive but rather the execution of a plan that former SSA director-general Jeff Maqetuka signed long time ago.
“There is no new directive,” a high-ranking official stated.
“The SSA is implementing what frustrated everybody who wanted to transform the agency for years. It is not new but it is something that dissidents have been blocking.”
Consultations with staff concluded this past Friday, marking the end of a series of discussions that began in October. According to anonymous sources within the SSA, officials affected by the restructuring were informed of upcoming changes.
“A detailed communication with the staff is expected by this week,” a source revealed.
The primary focus of the restructuring efforts is to address long-standing issues within the agency, particularly concerning professionalisation and skill enhancement. “It is all about professionalising the agency,” an SSA insider emphasised.
However, the transformation process has faced hurdles, particularly regarding outdated skills and the absence of career progression pathways.
The SSA conducted a recent skills audit and competency assessment, which revealed alarming findings. “The agency did a skills audit and a competency assessment, which told us where things were,” an anonymous source noted. The assessments identified that most key staff members possess outdated skills, with a significant number nearing retirement age.
Among the deputy director-Generals, there is reportedly no one below the age of 50, and at senior management levels, employees under 50 are scarce. The retirement age at the SSA is 60, raising concerns about a potential talent gap.
“If you do not create a career path, then you do not have a feeder line that comes through,” said a source.
The restructuring also addresses the SSA’s foreign deployment strategy, a crucial aspect that insiders claim has been overlooked by some factions. “The restructuring talks about the new foreign deployment strategy,” a source remarked.
However, there is a lack of appreciation for the proposed career path policy, which aims to streamline talent development and deployment.
Another point of contention is the absence of a parliamentary committee, which has yet to be set up. “At the moment, there is no parliamentary committee to provide oversight on developments in the SSA,” an insider stated, adding that different factions within the SSA exploited the gap by circulating varying narratives about the restructuring process in the public domain.
Despite the challenges, SSA management insists it is adhering to all principles during the restructuring. “The SSA officials are not under the labour laws. But the management says it is following all principles to the tee,” confirmed an anonymous source.
The SSA declined to comment.
