CAPE TOWN, June 15 (Xinhua) -- President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday appointed a high-level team to investigate alleged corruption in the State Security Agency (SSA).
The team is tasked to assess the mandate, capacity and organizational integrity of the SSA, presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said.
The appointment of the 10-member team followed the president's statement in the National Assembly on May 8 this year of his intention to set up a review panel to assess the structure of the SSA in relation to its mandate and enquire into its systems and capacity.
As instructed by Ramaphosa, the team must seek to identify all material factors that allowed for some of the current challenges within the Agency so that appropriate measures are instituted to prevent a recurrence, Diko said.
The main objective of the review panel is to assist in ensuring a responsible and accountable national intelligence capability for the country in line with the Constitution and relevant legislation, said Diko.
The team is expected to undertake and conclude its work within three months, according to Diko.
There have been growing calls for an investigation into the corruption-ridden SSA since Ramaphosa took power in February.
Hundreds of millions of rand reportedly disappeared from a slush fund, set up by an SSA-affiliated company known as Principal Agent Network (PAN).
SSA former director-general Arthur Fraser allegedly oversaw the program between 2007 and 2009.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) brought corruption charges against Fraser late last year.
