Zondo inquiry hears SSA served factional interests
President Cyril Ramaphosa has explained to the commission of inquiry into state capture his decision last week to move the State Security Agency into the Presidency.
Evidence leader, Advocate Paul Pretorius, put it to Ramaphosa that previous evidence supports the notion that state security is an important aspect on the country's constitutional democracy.
Pretorius says the point has also been illustrated by the recent unrest and its subsequent devastating consequences.
READ: Ramaphosa: I had no knowledge of Gigaba, Gupta relations
In his response, the president said the State Security Agency is an asset to the nation and citizens must have confidence in it.
"It is important that it should be seen to be so and to serve their nation and never to be seen to be serving certain sections of our nation and a high-level panel report did speak to this issue that in the past it tended to serve certain factional interests, be it in the governing party or otherwise. It is an agency that has been docked with a lot of controversies."
During the unrest, there was blundering and finger-pointing with regards to intelligence gathered.
The agency's former minister, Ayanda Dlodlo insisted it had been handed over to the police, but Police Minister Bheki Cele denied they received it.
READ: It's possible state capture by Guptas wasn't picked up, Ramaphosa says
With the intelligence agency now in the Presidency, Dlodlo has been sent back to the Public Service and Administration Department.
