By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Thembisile Majola has been appointed as the new head of the State Security Agency. File Picture.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Ambassador Thembisile Majola as the new Director-General of the State Security Agency (SSA) with effect from 1 March 2022.
The appointment, is made in terms of section 209(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, read with section 3(3(a) of the Intelligence Services Act 65 of 2002.
In a statement on Monday evening, the presidency said that the appointment of a permanent head of the SSA follows Ramaphosa’s undertaking in the State of the Nation Address to fill critical vacancies in the country’s security services.
She will be at the helm of the agency, the presidency said, for a period of three years.
Majola resigned from the executive in 2018, citing family reasons.
Ramaphosa said: “The appointment of… Thembi Majola to this position is an important part of our work to stabilise the country’s intelligence services. Her extensive experience in government, international relations and security makes her well placed to lead the reform and rebuilding of the State Security Agency.”
Majola served as a 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). She was the observer on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa to the trilateral negotiations on the Grand Renaissance Dam during South Africa’s tenure as chair of the African Union in 2020,” the presidency said.
“Her appointment is expected to give greater impetus to the implementation of the report of the SSA High Level Review Panel and the recommendations of the Expert Panel into the July 2021 unrest,” he said.
After the departure of embattled former Director-General, Arthur Fraser, in 2018, the SSA had two acting heads, Loyiso Jafta and ambassador Gab Msimanga.