Cape Town - Minister in the Presidency responsible for State Security Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has denied claims that the US had shared intelligence with them on the Russian ship that allegedly picked up arms to Russia.
Nsthavheni said the National Conventional Arms Control Committee did not approve the sale of arms to Russia, Belarus or Ukraine.
She said she had already told the official opposition sometime ago about these facts.
Ntshavheni was taking part in the debate on the Budget vote of the State Security Agency in Parliament on Friday, where she denied allegations by US ambassador Reuben Brigety of arms sales by South Africa to Russia.
She said an inquiry set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa would get to the bottom of what happened in December last year, when the ship docked in Simon’s Town.
The ANC has accused Brigety of jumping the gun on the matter.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor had a meeting with Brigety last Friday in Pretoria. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also had a discussion with Pandor the same day.
Ntshavheni told Parliament that they regularly shared intelligence with US authorities. This was done through proper channels, adding that at no point did South Africa ignore intelligence from the US.
“We have said on our part both on the terror alert that there was no such intelligence shared. including as there was no intelligence shared as it relates to the vessel that docked in Simon’s Town. We have got that on record and we have acknowledged in terms of the right channels and protocols that there was no intelligence shared with us.
“But we appreciate the intervention and the decision of the President of the Republic to announce a Commission of Inquiry to deal with the finality of the matter on the Simon’s Town vessel, the packages it took out of this country, if any.
“We have also at a government level indicated that there was no authorisation of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee that authorised any sale of weapons to Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. That was also explained to MPs through Parliamentary questions that were asked by members of the DA because they allow us to clarify our position in government,” said Ntshavheni.
She warned that politicians should not to drag South Africa into a scandal for political point-scoring.
She said this was a period in which politicians would do anything to gain political mileage.
But the issue was bigger than any politician or political party. It was about South Africa’s national security.
“Everything must be done to protect the sovereignty of the country,” said Ntshavheni.
The country cannot be involved in proxy wars.
“Any posturing in this matter is because we are in that period that we ourselves as politicians call the silly season. But I would like to caution that matters of state security we cannot afford to have a silly season because that means the collapse of our national security system and our national security architecture and therefore is a threat to the democracy that we seek to achieve and protect at all times,” said Ntshavheni.
She said they had always worked with US officials, adding that last November senior intelligence officials from the US had visited South Africa.
Ramaphosa’s national security adviser Sydney Mufamadi said last Saturday the US National Director of Intelligence, Avril Haines, was in the country recently.
Mufamadi said he was also working closely with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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