Senior officials in the department of public works & infrastructure, aided by government spies, are said to have put their minister and director-general (DG) under surveillance as part of a pushback against their clampdown on corruption.
This is according to well-placed government sources, who told the Sunday Times that minister Dean Macpherson and DG Sifiso Mdakane were alerted that they may have been hacked after sensitive communication between them surfaced on social media.
The State Security Agency (SSA) has now been asked to mount an official probe into the alleged hacking of the two, who are tasked with cleaning up one of the most scandal-hit and corruption-prone government departments.
Those with intimate knowledge of the alleged breach have indicated that sensitive information shared between the two — such as their handling of corruption at the Independent Development Trust (IDT) and the structuring of the soon-to-be established State Property Company — was published on a dubious internet site even though it had been shared with only a few people in the department.
Sources claimed that an initial investigation had revealed that the breach came from within the department and told the Sunday Times that Macpherson had addressed senior managers at a meeting in Cape Town last week, saying he was aware of the spying and was going to get to the bottom of it.
The minister immediately requested that the SSA conduct an independent and comprehensive technical investigation to determine whether any interception had occurred, the extent thereof, and over what period.
— James de Villiers, Dean Macpherson’s spokesperson
Macpherson, a DA MP and chair of the party in KwaZulu-Natal, has introduced changes in the department, including lifestyle audits of senior managers and an audit of staff to reveal ghost employees.
His spokesperson, James de Villiers, said: “I can confirm that the minister of public works & infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, formally wrote to the minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, on February 18, requesting the urgent intervention of the SSA in relation to serious security concerns within the department.”
De Villiers said Macpherson’s request came after he was tipped off about information which suggested that communication emanating from his and Mdakane’s offices may have been subject to unauthorised interception or monitoring.
“The nature and timing of certain developments, including the appearance of information in external environments that was confined to limited internal communication channels, and instances where sensitive matters appeared to be anticipated before formal decisions were taken, raised reasonable concerns about the possible interception or surveillance of official communications.
“Given the seriousness of such an allegation, the minister immediately requested that the SSA conduct an independent and comprehensive technical investigation to determine whether any interception had occurred, the extent thereof, and over what period.”
De Villiers could not say for how long they suspect the monitoring has been occurring, and that it would be inappropriate to speculate while the investigation was under way.
According to sources, the timing of the alleged interception coincided with intensified governance reforms and investigations within the department and could not be viewed in isolation from the broader reform agenda and the discontent this creates with entrenched interests that may have much to lose.
De Villiers said the broader context in which Macpherson requested an investigation was of a department that is undergoing a sustained and structured clean-up process that is aimed at restoring accountability, strengthening governance controls and rooting out entrenched wrongdoing.
The minister is on the record as saying that the ‘system does not want to reform’. This is evidently so, and has previously been encountered when a co-ordinated pushback at the IDT was launched
— James de Villiers
“One of the key interventions by the minister and DG in this regard has been the work done through the establishment of the strategic and special delivery unit located in the DG’s office to fast-track work that has stalled within the department, as well as prepare the work for the South African National Property Company as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his state of the nation address.”
He said the clean-up included:
- ongoing independent investigations into high-value departmental projects;
- the introduction of lifestyle audits for senior officials;
- the implementation of active performance management mechanisms;
- the strengthening of internal consequence management processes; and
- ongoing investigations into irregularities across various programmes.
Recently, a senior manager responsible for real estate resigned following developments linked to this process.
“In addition, various investigations are under way into numerous senior officials for misconduct and around lack of performance,” De Villiers said.
He said that when meaningful reform is implemented in institutions that have historically faced governance and corruption problems, resistance is not uncommon.
“The minister is on the record as saying that the ‘system does not want to reform’. This is evidently so, and has previously been encountered when a co-ordinated pushback at the IDT was launched, including bot-driven social media campaigns, the circulation of falsified documents, and the planting of fabricated narratives in sections of the media.”
The department has previously been prone to hacking and unauthorised access to its IT systems.
Shortly after assuming office in July 2024, Macpherson revealed that the department had lost about R300m through repeated cyber attacks by criminals who worked with state officials.
De Villiers said that with regard to the department’s IT systems, cybersecurity measures have been implemented over time.
“As part of the request to the SSA, a full technical security sweep has also been sought to identify any vulnerabilities in both digital infrastructure and physical office environments, including parliament and the office of the director-general.”
The SSA had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publishing.
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