Imtiaz Fazel: Who exactly is the spy watchdog nominee?

He may be a chartered accountant by training, but Inspector-General for Intelligence (IGI) nominee Imtiaz Fazel is no stranger to the spy world, having spent 10 years working in intelligence services before joining the Department of Public Works in 2012.

Fazel was recommended for the IGI post by Parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence (JSCI) on Wednesday, following rigorous interviews conducted in February.

He was one of ten candidates vying for the job at the state spy watchdog.

Other candidates included former director-general in the Presidency under former president Thabo Mbeki, Frank Chikane, and current IGI incumbent, Setlhomamaru Dintwe.

Dintwe’s five-year term ended in March.

South Africa’s intelligence services have been weakened and rendered ineffective after years of rampant corruption and state capture under former president Jacob Zuma.

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It is hoped that Fazel could restore the integrity of the office to which he is also no stranger.

‘Helped establish IGI office’

Between 2002 and 2012, Fazel was acting chief operations officer in the IGI office.

During his interview, he remarked that he was effectively the first employee in the IGI office that he said he also helped establish.

“I started off in that office between 2002 and 2004, where I acted and also assisted to establish that office. And also in 2004, I was permanently employed and its first employee. I stayed there until 2012, when I was transferred to public works and infrastructure.

“I had a good decade at the IGI, where I was responsible for assisting IGI, and also served as deputy IGI in functions although I was formally COO.”

According to his Curriculum Vitae submitted to the panel, Fazel’s entrance into state security started in 1997, when he was a consultant for military intelligence, before he became COO of intelligence.

As a consultant, he provided advice to various ministers on finance, auditing, oversight into covert structures, and generally assisting ministers on handling intelligence matters.

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The accountant

Fazel attended school in Benoni, Ekurhuleni in the 70’s. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy Science from the University of South Africa in 1988.

This was followed by a postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of the Western Cape in 1991, and an admission as an auditor in 1995.

In between work and his studies, Fazel was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and worked across various NGO’s.

He was also a member of a student movement called the Benoni Youth League, which was an affiliate of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

In 1989, he was head of finance at Kimberely Clark Corporation. He was also a member of audit teams at various multi-national companies, including Kellog Group, Tongaat Hullet Group, Shell, Sun International Hotels division and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

“I served my articles with PwC [PriceWaterHouseCoopers] where I gained experience in auditing multi-national companies … that was my career in the private sector. Prior to that I was in private practice, I am a qualified CA. I was in private practice since 1996 before I joined government fulltime in 1994,” Fazel said.

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While working at the SSA, he enrolled to study further and graduated with a Masters in Security Studies.

As incumbent acting deputy director-general for governance, risk and compliance, said Fazel, he was able to gain more knowledge on security issues South Africa faces, while “appreciating the three tiers of government – national, provincial and local – and the problems the country is confronted with.”

In a statement on Wednesday, JSCI chairperson Jerome Maake said the committee resolved by a simple majority to nominate Fazel for approval by the National Assembly and for recommendation to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In terms of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act, approval for Fazel required a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, said Maake.

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