Minister Mboweni promises to cut SSA budget if stolen money not retuned

19 March 2021

In an extraordinary statement last night the Minister of Finance seemingly took the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) into his confidence and stated “that there is an allegation that $50 million was stolen from their safe (State Security Agency), and I’ve said to the Minister (Ayanda Dlodlo), even though you’re going to receive this allocation, if you don’t bring back that $50 million, I am going to cut your budget by $50 million. You have to return it, I want it back”.

That $50 million would come to roughly R736 565 343.08. If this amount was taken from the SSA budget, surely it would effectively shut that entity down? This begs the question, how will a State Security Agency with no income generating capacity, replace the stolen amount?

The sad reality South Africans need to live with, is that the looted money from the State Security Agency over the years could have paid for vaccines for every single one of us. Instead, it was swindled, and as far as anyone knows, millions of Rands are still streaming out of the SSA via the hands of those employed by that Agency and given to people who have no right to it.

Just over a month ago the DA Shadow Minister of State Security, Dianne Kohler Barnard, wrote to Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, asking that she drives the total shutdown of the Agency. This was in the light of the looting, abuse of funds- to fight ANC internal factional battles, and seemingly incapacity of the agency.

The proposal, to which the Minister has not bothered to respond, is that she then re-vet each and every staff member, in order to weed out those determined to commit what the DA regards as treason.

Sadly, the Minister has just fallen at a major hurdle – having hired a man who has been suspended for some three years, to now be the Deputy Director General of Domestic Intelligence. Seriously? Arthur Frazer’s right-hand man, brought back in and put into a position of power? Has the Minister given the green light for the looting to recommence? A five-minute perusal of Google would have given her the full, dirty details of this man’s background.

Statement issued by Cathy Labuschagne MP - DA Leader in the NCOP, 19 March 2021