The report on the Zuma "spy tapes" will be discussed by Parliament's joint
standing committee on intelligence (JSCI) today - but it is not clear whether
the public will ever be told what the report contains.
The spy tape report examines how the secret recordings made by the National
Intelligence Agency of intercepted conversations between former Scorpions boss
Leonard McCarthy and former National Prosecuting Authority chief Bulelani Ngcuka
got into the hands of President Jacob Zuma's lawyer, Michael Hulley.
These "spy tapes" led to the scrapping of criminal charges against Zuma and
ultimately to a change in government.
Cecil Burgess, the chairman of the JSCI, the statutory body that oversees spies
and is meant to ensure there is no abuse of power by intelligence agencies, said
the committee would meet in Pretoria today.
It would examine the report and he would "take guidance from the committee".
The report, compiled by former inspector-general of intelligence Zolile Ngcakani,
was completed at least three months ago.
Burgess said Ngcakani, whose contract ended at the end of last year, had given
him the report, which was being kept "in a secure area".
He said he had not looked at it yet. Asked if he was not curious to see what the
report contained, Burgess replied: "Why should I be curious?"
On whether the report would be released to the public, Burgess said: "It's not
up to us to make someone else's report public unless there is something in the
report that we feel needs to be made public. Then we can report to Parliament on
that. But first our report goes to the president to see if it contains anything
that compromises state security."
However, UCT researcher Laurie Nathan, one of the commissioners who reviewed
intelligence legislation in 2008, said this was not correct.
"There are two issues here: the first is whether the inspector-general's report
should be made public and the second is whether the JSCI's comments on the
report should be made public," Nathan said.
"It is correct that the JSCI does not have the authority to declassify a
classified document, but neither does the president. Only the person who
classified it has the authority to declassify it.
"The committee's comments on the report do not have to go to the president. They
are wrong on that. There is no piece of legislation anywhere that says that. The
JSCI is accountable to Parliament, not to the president."
Nathan believes that, once the JSCI has considered the report by the
inspector-general, the overseer of the intelligence services, it should be made
public. He says the report will answer a simple question: who broke the law by
giving the recordings to Zuma's lawyer?
Although the JSCI's job is to keep an eye on the country's secret agents, and
although it is unlawful for recordings of intercepted conversations made by the
intelligence agencies to be given to private citizens, the JSCI has been in no
hurry to get its hands on the report that investigated how this had happened.
At the time it was completed, Burgess said he was not sure whether he would call
for the spy tapes report, as there might be "certain things we may not be
entitled to see".
The spy tapes inquiry dealt with recordings made towards the end of 2007. The
taped conversations suggested McCarthy was taking political instructions as to
the best timing to bring fraud and
corruption charges against Zuma. The content of the tapeds
led to all criminal charges against Zuma being dropped, clearing his way to
become president. With acknowledgements to Melanie Gosling and Cape Times.