Public accountability activists have raised concerns about the dysfunctional IT system at the public protector's office, which may compromise public complaints and open the email server to interference by spies.
The NGO Public Interest has written to the auditor-general seeking intervention, warning that the public protector's IT system is dysfunctional.
Phones and emails worked intermittently. Public Interest wanted to lodge a procurement-related complaint in June with the office of the public protector. The complaint they tried to lodge was related to the office of the chief justice.
“After more than a month of not hearing from the office of the PP, we sent several emails and telephone calls, none of which were responded to,” said Tebogo Khaas, chair of Public Interest. Their own investigation uncovered the alleged dysfunction of the IT system.
“I was horrified by what I learnt about the state of affairs at that office. To say it's dysfunctional would be an understatement,” he said.
He was informed that both the phone and IT systems worked intermittently. It was common place for the emails to disappear “miraculously”.
There were fears that intelligence officials seconded from the state Security Agency (SSA) had a strong role in the management of the IT system. Khaas said this raised concerns that the emails could be routed via a different server — possibly controlled by spies. “Clearly, the public protector can't discharge its mandate properly in a situation where it's difficult for the public to reach the office,” said Khaas.
President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in June ahead of a parliamentary inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
The hearings have heard allegations that spies played a role in the affairs of the protector's office. In one incident, Mkhwebane allegedly obtained the wording of a report from SSA operative Mal Moodley. The report related to the “lifeboat saga” or “CIEX report”, which was about how the Reserve Bank had bailed out the Bankorp Group between 1985 and 1991.
In a controversial 2017 report that roiled the financial markets and caused political ripples, Mkhwebane made a recommendation to change the mandate of the Reserve Bank. The report was later set aside by the high court in Pretoria.
Funny because Mkhwebane has, on several occasions, publicly complained about her missing emails, and yet she's probably aware or ought to be aware of the cause
— Tebogo Khaas, chair of Public Interest
A former senior investigator in the protector's office, advocate Tebogo Kekana, told the parliamentary inquiry that the recommendation came from an intelligence operative who handed Mkhwebane a sheet with the wording that finally made it into the official report.
This week, former public protector security head Baldwin Neshunzhi gave testimony on former spy boss Arthur Fraser's alleged interference in the running of that institution. In one incident, Fraser accused him of not supporting Mkhwebane.
Fraser has a string of controversies behind his name, including that as national correctional services head he illegally released former president Jacob Zuma from prison. He was also behind the revelation of the Phala Phala affair. Fraser filed a police complaint against Ramaphosa in June, accusing him of money laundering, kidnapping and corruption.
The public protector's office announced early in June that it would investigate the matter. She was suspended by Ramaphosa days later. In an environment of strong accusations of the intelligence operatives during Mkhwebane's tenure, the possibility that they were controlling the server and choosing which emails with public complaints were allowed in was strong.
“Funny because Mkhwebane has, on several occasions, publicly complained about her missing emails, and yet she's probably aware or ought to be aware of the cause,” said Khaas.
Public Protector spokesman Oupa Segalwe said the email and telephone systems functioned properly but “now and then there are network and connectivity glitches which affect any other state institution. However, no third parties—including the State Security Agency — have access to the PPSA’s Information and Communication Technology infrastructure ”
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