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06 August 2010
Address by Ambassador Adv. F D Radebe
The Inspector-General of Intelligence – Republic of South Africa
On the Occasion of the Women’s Day Celebrations held at Musanda Complex, Pretoria
THEME:
Recognising the Contributions of Women Intelligence Officers in
Creating a Safer South Africa
Programme Director, Ms Karen Burger
The Acting Minister of State Security the Hon. Jeff Radebe
Hon. Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence Adv. Cecil Burgess:
Your Excellency, Ambassador Jeff Maqetuka the Director-General of State Security Agency
Honourable members of Parliament:
The Coordinator of Intelligence, Mr. S Sokupa:
The Head of Domestic Branch SSA, Mr. Lizo Njenje:
The Executive Director of the NCC Mr. “Trinity” M Zokwe:
Chairperson of the ISC Madame Merriam Sekati:
Principal of the SANAI Mr. Mike Sarjoo:
Prof. Sandy Africa DDG Corporate Services of SSA
Head of the Office of the Interception Centre (OIC), Mr. Brian Koopedi:
Top Management of State Security Agency:
Dr I Moetsana-Moeng:
Our Veterans:
Distinguished Guests:
Ladies and gentlemen:
All protocol observed:
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Today, as we are gathered here, the family of Thifhelimbilu Mashau is picking up pieces of
their beloved daughter who was brutally murdered. The cruel killing of her two little daughters
of four years and eight months by faceless criminals shatters the imaginations of all and
sundry. The whole nation is gripped in shock and outraged by the cruelty of these killings and
execution of defenceless people. It is another horrific blow to the progress of young adult
women who are spellbound to take charge of their destiny. Thanks to the swift action of our
Police Service by making a breakthrough with the arrest of three people yesterday. Those
arrested and found guilty will get their full reward from our Justice system.
Many women have suffered under domestic abuse. There are criminals out there who rule
our lives like animals looking for their prey. I think it is fitting and proper that at this stage we
should pause and observe a minute of silence in honour of the deceased and many others
who became victims at the hands of the callous villains.
Program Director, I am duly conscious of the high honour that is bestowed on me to speak on
this august occasion.
I cannot help but realise that I stand dimly in the twilight of this
occasion, made brilliant by our unforgettable heroines whose mightiest courage and devotion
stand unparalleled in our history.
As we are gathered here to salute the age-enduring courage of the millions of heroines, it
ought to be appreciated that these women marched to the Union Building on the 9th August
1956 in an effort to release, the nation from the shackles and scourge of subjugation. This
courage is well captured by Lebo Mashile, in her celebrated poem entitled “THE TRIUMPH
OF COURAGE”. It partly reads thus:
“Somewhere in the annals of time
There is a record
Of the instant
When the imprint was left
On your life’s shoes
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…Where fear takes leave
And we are left
With the triumph of courage”
It is pressing to highlight the pertinent observation made by the current Secretary of State of
the US, Mrs. Hillary Clinton that “the subjugation of women anywhere in the world is a
threat to the national security”.
As our heroines gathered to scorn the scourge of
subjugation they were effectively paying homage to the axiomatic expression that:
“Mmangwana o tshwara thipa ka fa bogaleng”.
Loosely translated this means that the mother would do anything including the holding of the
sharp blade of the knife intended to stab her children. The proverbial knife represented the
repressive system which was hell-bent to subjugate the majority. Its recorded intransigency
could not diminish the courage of these heroines, as some continued with the march outside
the borders of the country, to vigorously pursue the idea, by not only handling the proverbial
sharp side of the knife, but to literally face the hail of bullets spewed by the mighty artillery of
a sorry regime. They were not declared heroines by mistake for indeed they earned the title.
This is the brand of women fighters South Africa has produced.
Their determination and thirst for freedom was captured by their equal, the late Mma Lillian
Ngoyi, who burst with the metaphor:
"We don't want men who wear skirts under their trousers. If they don't want to
act, let us women exchange garments with them."
The nation is proud of them. We dare not forget their sacrifices and abandon their courage in
our achieved freedom which, as we all know, is still in its infancy. It is in this freedom which
was not acquired freely that we today find women rights being prominent.
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As we celebrate and honour the heroines of 1956, we ought to resolve as women in the
Intelligence community, that we will soldier on the legacy of this enduring landmark of our
country’s history, the heroic march of 1956 to the Union Building. The women vowed and
declared that:
“we shall not rest until we have won for our children their fundamental rights
and freedom, justice and security”.
These words rang out from the hundreds of thousands of petitions of immense courage and
strength of the women of 1956. Their protest song dubbed “Wa thinta Abafazi Wa Thint
Imbokotho” (You strike a woman, you strike a rock) convincingly, drew the battle lines
against a discriminatory, racist regime.
The battle did not end up in 1956.
Instead it still remains with us.
We recognize the
contribution made by women intelligence officers in creating a safer South Africa.
Their
contributions dealt a blow to the traditionally-held view and practice that intelligence
tradecraft, is the dominion prestige of men-folk.
Though this traditional view is being
dismantled steadily, it is our collective responsibility to work hard in hastening that women find
the niche in the intelligence tradecraft.
It is now sealed that women in intelligence will continue to play a significant role in changing
the environment in the workplace. This is a daunting task because the legacy of prolonged
oppression weighs heavily on women to this day. It is also appropriate to employ the fitting
words of the first President of the Democratic South Africa, the Honourable President Nelson
Rholihlahla Mandela, who, during a similar occasion of the women’s day’s celebration in
1996, echoed that:
“as long as outmoded ways of thinking prevent women from making a
meaningful contribution to society, progress will be slow”.
These words were true then as they still are today.
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We acknowledge that a democratic South Africa made significant milestones towards
improving the status of women. As we all know the struggle against apartheid was fought on
two fronts. On the one side it was struggle against the oppression of the majority. On the
other side, it was struggle against the oppression of women in general. As we gather here
today, we must be reminded that:
“Women Rights are Human Rights”
However, it is unwise to be complacent, as hard work still lies ahead of us. We as Women
Intelligence Officers, have to become the midwives of the security establishment.
It is
perhaps no wonder that the responsibility to establish the State Security Agency (SSA) is
under the midwifery of Professor Sandy Africa. She shoulders the responsibility to ensure
that this healthy baby is delivered safely. We have to understand that gone are the days
where women fought for the right to have a voice, as the voice is legendary of making noise.
Women have to be engaged in shaping the nation and in influencing the national identity, and
rights and freedoms in our country, South Africa. The testimony that women are indeed in the
thick of things is borne by the roles of these great warriors, who contributed in their own way
to the shaping of the community. It is a deserved reminder that the wall of remembrance
erected at the entrance of this premises, is not a decorating fountain, but a book filled with
names of heroes and heroines who, because of the hidden nature of their chosen career, will
never be celebrated by the world.
We owe them their deserved reverence and
commemoration.
It is abiding to illustrate this by citing few of them as examples:
 The late Dr Dorothy Molale-Malaka is the angel physician who consciously chose the
modest life of the government official instead of the opulence and riches of the
physicians in private practice. By doing so she was continuing in the path she has
chosen of serving distinctly as the intelligence officer.
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 The other example to be cited is the ever smiling late Motshewa Makhetha. Her
attraction did not reside in her literal smile but the figurative one which resembles the
manner in which she was discharging her responsibilities as the social worker. She
was the catalyst in rebuilding the families that were torn apart by family disputes.
Some of these disputes had their roots in the domestic violence, which wreaks havoc
in many families.
Motsheoa put her shoulder on the wheel to be the proverbial
mother in the intelligence community. This renders her a heroine who marched in her
own way, just like the marching women of 1956.
 The late Thami Maroga was the embodiment of courage.
She gathered much
courage to disclose her HIV status amidst the myth and the fear that go with such
disclosure. Her courage as well, matches the marching women of August 1956.
The list of our fallen heroines includes luminaries such as Makhosasana Msimang and
Phumla Nkala, to name a few.
Some of the heroines are still with us and continue to carve the niche in ensuring that our
present, which will be our history soon, is being shepherded in our desired direction. These
include amongst others.
 The former Minister of Intelligence Services, Dr. Lindale Susulu (MP), who during her
tenure toiled to ensure that the working conditions of the Intelligence Officers remain
in the brackets of the best, lest the security competencies of our Intelligence Officers
be unnecessarily compromised.
There are other living and shining stars that I hope many of you gathered here will agree that
they should be crowned as the champions. These include the following members
 Kgomotso Jolobe,
 Joyce Sekhakhane-Rankin,
 Merriam Sekati,
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 Muvhango Lukhaimane,
 Naomi Rivers-Tokwe,
 Tosca Mzikasi Tyibilika, and
 Sheilla Nyanda.
We have to appreciate that all of us women here are heroines in our own way.
We all
deserve the mantle of heroines in our own right if, we were to meticulously inspect our roles.
We were at the forefront in ensuring that the FIFA World Cup is delivered without any
negative event, thus bearing testimony to the status held by our heroines. It is hoped that as
the Intelligence Officers, will influence the policy makers to ensure that the infrastructure
developed for FIFA World Cup, are used to the benefits of the community and schools in
particular.
Indeed we dare not forget the other heroines who occupy a lesser status in the society.
Some of them fit the status of heroines but passed on without any notice. We should focus
our attention to women farm-workers, whose precarious and heart-rending conditions
continue into our democracy. We dare not spare them in awarding them the symbolic mantle
of heroines. They remain in dire poverty trappings with no basic necessities in life.
The domestic workers survive and nurture their children to maturity with less than meagre
salaries. We dare not spare them the symbolic mantle as well. The majority of them endure
abuses that are noticeably widespread despite the efforts to intensify the implementation of
laws designed to protect them.
The month of August is known for being women’s month. The month is therefore an august
reminder that issues affecting women in the workplace and civil society are brought to the fore
and highlighted. Starting with the workplace we have to ask ourselves whether we are
compliant with the legislative and policy frameworks, that force the employers, both in the
public and private sector, to abide and adhere to the gender equity principles. The reality
illustrates that by-and-large the employers are betraying these principles.
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The 10th Annual Report of the Commission on Employment Equity (CEE) (that is, 2009-2010)
paints a disturbing picture which reflects that the percentage of women in the Top
Management in both the public and private sector constitutes only 18.5%. On the other hand
the men folk constitutes a whopping 81,5%. These statistics should motivate us to heighten
the gear and accelerate women’s emancipation in the workplace.
From the above one can see that the admirable conventions like Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women, The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) are flouted.
Also the domestic legal measures like
Employment Equity Act that were designed to protect women from the shackles of
subjugation are rendered hollow by the practical reality. We dare not fold our arms when the
reality parades this flagrant disregard of our obligations. A biggest task is indeed still ahead
of us.
This brings me to our responsibilities in our private homes. As the saying goes “charity
begins at home”. The manner in which we raise our children speak volumes. We must
teach our children the values of gender equality from an early age. It behoves of us as the
responsible parents to instil these values in our children. In practising what we preach, in the
comfort of our homes, we are effectively sowing the seeds of success of women
emancipation.
In essence this implies that we should all shoulder the responsibility to ensure that
paternalism and chauvinism are arrested in their infancy. This will ensure that the poisonous
seed is barred from germinating. In this vein our children includes those who roam the streets
without shelter, food, basic needs and so on and so forth.
Knowing the root causes of their plight, it has to be our responsibility to shelter and nourish
them in the right direction. Our organisational and individual efforts may go a long way in
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rebuilding these poor mortals. There are many children out there who needs foster care.
There are many places of shelter whose shortage of budget can be remedied by the
contribution of services (materially and in kind).
From the above, one is inevitably driven to conclude that the mighty task of meeting the
Millennium Development Goals designed to tackle extreme poverty which includes the
“achievement of universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality and the
empowerment of women and the improvement of maternal health” still remain a
challenge.
We should channel our energies to achieve these goals.
It is our life time
obligations that we dare not ignore.
The legacy of August 1956 lives on for which we fear to take no leave. It is the imprint which
is on record somewhere in the annals of time. We shall not waiver this “the triumph of
courage” of recognising the contribution of women Intelligence Officers in creating a safer
South Africa
MALIBONGWE IGAMA LA MAKOSIKASI MALIBONGWE!!!!!!
Thank you
_________________________
Ambassador Adv. F D Radebe
Inspector-General of Intelligence – Republic of South Africa
6th August 2010
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