State Security Agency (SSA) Director-General Ambassador Thembisile Cheryl Majola has resigned from her top position “by mutual consent”, confirmed the Presidency on Wednesday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has since accepted Ambassador Majola’s resignation which will be effective November 30.
Ramaphosa appointed Ambassador Majola on March 1 last year, following his promise in the State of the Nation Address a month earlier, to fill critical vacancies in the country’s security services.
Majola was the first permanent Director-General of the agency since Arthur Fraser left in 2018. The position was held in an acting capacity by Loyiso Jafta and Gab Msimanga in that period.
Majola was the former Deputy Minister of Energy and was South Africa’s ambassador to Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde, Gambia and Guinea Bissau.
She has held several positions in the Presidency and was a Deputy Coordinator in the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC).
Majola also served as an observer on behalf of Ramaphosa to the trilateral negotiations on the Grand Renaissance Dam during South Africa’s tenure as chair of the African Union in 2020.
At the time of her appointment, Ramaphosa said Majola would play an important role to stabilise the country’s intelligence services with her extensive experience in government, international relations and security.
In a short statement announcing her resignation on Wednesday, Ramaphosa expressed his appreciation to Ambassador Majola for her contribution to the reform and rebuilding of the State Security Agency.
“President Ramaphosa wishes Ambassador Majola well in all her future endeavours,” said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
kailene.pillay@inl.co.za
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