Inspector General of Intelligence: interviews for filling of vacancy

Meeting report

Opening and Welcoming Remarks
The Chairperson opened the meeting by welcoming all present. The purpose of the meeting was to interview candidates for the Inspector General of Intelligence. The Chairperson explained the procedure of interviews to all the candidates that were shortlisted. She cautioned candidates that the Committee would not ask questions that had national security implications and the candidates should avoid doing so in their responses.

 
The following questions were asked to the candidates:
 
Mr Smanga Jele
Mr Jele was asked to confirm whether he had applied for the position of the Inspector General of Intelligence.
 
He was asked who to describe himself.
 
He was asked what skills and expertise he was bringing to the Office of the Inspector General.
 
He was asked what he understood about the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Activities Act of 2004, how he would ensure it was effectively implemented, and what improvements he would make to the Act.  
 
He was asked how he would build relationships between the Office of the Inspector General, the President and the Executive, Parliament and Committees, other international organisations and foreign governments.
 
He was asked how he would ensure there was no political interference if appointed as Inspector General of Intelligence.
 
He was asked what his management style was and what the key factors that encouraged an effective and productive work place were.
 
He was asked how the South African oversight mechanism was compared with other international models.
 
 
The Chairperson reminded the candidate that if there was something that was not disclosed in the interview process but was later revealed by his references it would jeopardise his chances of success to be appointed as IG.
 
She thanked Mr Jele for availing himself for the interviews. The Committee will deliberate and recommend to the National Assembly (NA) and the NA would submit this to the President to make the final appointment. A full security clearance will be done.
 
The Chairperson asked Mr Jele if he had questions for the Committee.
 
Refer to audio for Mr Jele’s responses. The interview was conducted from 05min – 40:30min
 
Ms Annelize Gerber
Ms Gerber was asked if she had applied for the position of Inspector General of Intelligence.
 
She was asked whether anything might be held against her in terms of her competency.
 
The Chairperson explained that the interview was conducted in an open session and any matter that related to intelligence in terms of the Intelligence Act, the Oversight Act, and anything that related to national security would not be discussed or divulge in terms of the interview.
 
She was asked about the role of the Inspector General of Intelligence was and how it fitted into the South African constitutional democracy. She was asked to include and outline the competing human rights and state obligations in her response.
 
She was asked why she had applied for the position and why she though she was the best candidate for the position.
 
She was asked how she would ensure that the nature of intelligence gathering did not contravene the constitution of the country.
 
She was asked to elaborate on which legislations governed or regulated the Intelligence services.
 
She was asked how she would ensure there was a balance in the Office of the IG in terms of the need to maintain secrecy and on the other hand to ensure transparency in a constitutional state.
 
She was asked to describer herself.
 
She was asked how she would ensure that the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Activities Act of 2004 is effectively implemented and how would she prevent the obstacles when executing that Act. In addition, she had to expand on how she would use her skills to execute the Act and what managerial skills she would use in following the Act.
 
She was asked how she would build relationships between the Office of the Inspector General, the President and the Executive, Parliament and Committees, other international organisations and foreign governments.
 
She was asked what value she would bring to the Office of the Inspector General.
 
She was asked if she had ever managed a body of people in terms of her work experience, how she used her skills to lead in her respective capacity.
 
She was asked if there were any questions she had for the Committee.
 
The Chairperson thanked Ms Gerber for availing herself for the interview. A full security clearance will be done on her. The Committee will deliberate and recommend to the National Assembly (NA) and the NA will recommend to the President who will make the final appointment.
 
Refer to audio for Ms Gerber’s responses. The interview was conducted from 41:53 – 1:26:54
 
Ms Desire Fouche
Ms Fouche was asked if anything had changed with regards to her declaration.
 
She was asked if there was anything she wanted to share with the Committee that might embarrass her.
 
The Chairperson explained that the interview was conducted in an open session and any matter that related to intelligence in terms of the Intelligence Act, the Oversight Act, and anything that related to national security will not be discussed or divulge in terms of the interview.
 
She was asked why she applied for the position and why she thought she was the best candidate for the position.
 
She was asked how she would ensure that the nature intelligence gathering did not contravene the constitution of the country.

She was asked what her management style was and what the key factors were that encouraged an effective and productive work place.
 
She was asked about the role of the Inspector General of Intelligence was and how it fitted into the South African constitutional democracy. She was asked to include and outline the competing human rights and state obligations in her response.
 
She was asked if the public in general knew about the Office of the Inspector General, and its role.
 
She was asked how she could differentiate between the oversight roles and the functions of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and the Office of the IG of Intelligence.
 
She was asked how she would conduct herself if she had to act independently and impartially.
 
She was asked how she would ensure there was a balance in the Office of the IG in terms of the need to maintain secrecy and on the other hand to ensure transparency in a constitutional state.
 
She was asked how she would ensure there was no political influence in her duties as an IG.
 
She was asked about the developed vision that governed the Office of the IG was, how she would deal with the challenges that encompassed that vision and if it related to the National Development Plan (NDP).
 
The Chairperson thanked Ms Fouche for availing herself for interview. There will be a full security clearance to all the candidates. The Committee will deliberate and recommend to the National Assembly and the NA will recommend to the President who will make the final appointment.
 
She was asked if she had any questions for the Committee.
 
Refer to audio for Ms Fouche’s responses. The interview was conducted from 1:33:00 – 1:51:20
 
Mr Andile Kilifele
Mr Kilifele was asked if anything had changed with regards to his integrity.
 
He was asked to confirm that he had applied for the position of IG.
 
The Chairperson explained that the interview was conducted in an open session and any matter that related to intelligence in terms of the Intelligence Act, the Oversight Act, will not be discussed or divulge in terms of the interview. Therefore, no questions or answers will be expected from him in that regard.
 
He was asked if there was anything he wanted to share with the Committee that might embarrass him in so far as it applied to his suitability for the position.
 
He was asked about the role of the Inspector General of Intelligence was and how it fitted into the South African constitutional democracy. He was asked to include and outline the competing human rights and state obligations in his response.
 
He was asked to list the Acts that regulated the intelligence services.
 
He was asked how he would manage complaints and grievances from his office if appointed as an IG.
 
He was asked why he thought he should be the one considered for the position of IG.
 
He was asked to share the challenges that faced national intelligence compared to those of the world.
 
He was asked about the image of the Office of the IG, how should it be improved and why.
 
The Chairperson thanked Mr Kilifele for availing himself for interview. There will be a full security clearance to all the candidates. The Committee will deliberate and recommend to the National Assembly and the NA will recommend to the President who will make the final appointment.
 
Refer to audio for Mr Kilifele’s responses. The interview was conducted from 1:55:25 – 2:22:03
 
Mr Cecil Burgess
Mr Burgess was asked if anything had changed with regards to his declaration.
 
The Chairperson explained that the interview was conducted in an open session and any matter that related to intelligence in terms of the Intelligence Act, the Oversight Act, will not be discussed or divulge in terms of the interview. Therefore, no questions or answers will be expected from him in that regard.
 
He was asked to confirm if he had applied for the position of IG.
 
He was asked to list the legislation that regulated the intelligence services.
 
He was asked about the role of the Inspector General of Intelligence was and how it fitted into the South African constitutional democracy. He was asked to include and outline the competing human rights and state obligations in his response.
 
He was asked about his management style and what key factors encouraged an effective and productive work place.
 
He was asked how he would develop the vision of the Office of IG.
 
He was asked what issues he would first tackle locally and internationally should he be appointed to the position of IG of Intelligence.
 
He was asked what managerial skills he had and how he would use them to lead the Office of the IG.
 
He was asked to give an example where he was in a position of trust and successfully dealt with political interference from his seniors.
 
He was asked how he would deal with the issues of independence and impartiality.
 
He was asked how he would ensure there was a balance in the Office of the IG in terms of the need to maintain secrecy and on the other hand to ensure transparency in a constitutional state.
 
He was asked how he would build the relationships between the Office of the Inspector General, the President and the Executive, Parliament and Committees, other international organisations and foreign governments.
 
He was asked about his understanding of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Activities Act of 2004, how he would ensure it was effectively implemented, and what improvements he could make to the Act.  
 
He was asked to describe himself.
 
He was asked how the South Africa oversight mechanism was compared with other international models.
 
He was asked what skills he would bring to the Office of the Inspector General to make it effective and efficient.
 
The Chairperson told Mr Burgess that a full security clearance will be done. If any of his references provided information that was not declared, this would jeopardise his appointment.
 
He was asked if there were any questions he wanted to pose to the Committee.
 
The Chairperson thanked Mr Burgess for availing himself for the interview. The Committee will deliberate and recommend to the National Assembly and the NA will recommend to the President who will make the final appointment.
 
Refer to audio for Mr Burgess’ responses. The interview was conducted from 2:37:22 – 3:25:30
 
Mr Clinton Davids
Mr Davids was asked if anything had changed with regards to his integrity.
 
The Chairperson explained that the interview was conducted in an open session and any matter that related to intelligence in terms of the Intelligence Act, the Oversight Act, will not be discussed or divulge in terms of the interview. Therefore, no questions or answers will be expected from him in that regard.
 
He was asked to confirm that he had applied for the position of IG.
 
He was asked if there was anything he wanted to share with the Committee that might embarrass him in so far as he was recommended in this position.
 
He was asked about the role of the Inspector General of Intelligence was and how it fitted into the South African constitutional democracy. He was asked to include and outline the competing human rights and state obligations in his response.
 
He was asked about his understanding of the functions of the Inspector General of Intelligence.
 
He was asked why he believed he was the best candidate for the position.
 
He was asked to list the various legislations that governed or regulated the Intelligence services.
 
He was asked what managerial skills he had and how he would use them to lead in the Office of the IG.
 
He was asked to elaborate on the challenges that faced national intelligence compared to those of the world.
 
He was asked to give his view on the image of the Office of the IG and how it should be improved and why.
 
The Chairperson thanked Mr Davids for availing himself for interview. There will be a full security clearance to all the candidates. The Committee will deliberate and recommend to the National Assembly and the NA wiilll recommend to the President who will make the final appointment.
 
Refer to audio for Mr Davids’ responses. The interview was conducted from 3:30:16 – 3:52:15
 
The meeting was adjourned.