RAMAPHOSA: SA'S INTELLIGENCE ON HIGH ALERT AMID TERRORISM WARNING

While an alert issued by the embassy on Wednesday left South Africans worried about their safety, government dismissed the reports as unfounded claims.

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the response to the state capture report on 23 October 2022. Picture: GCIS

Nokukhanya Mntambo | 27 October 2022 15:31

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has broken his silence on the reports of a possible terrorist attack in Sandton hitting out at the US Embassy for skipping protocol.

While an alert issued by the embassy on Wednesday left South Africans worried about their safety, the government denied the claim.

Ramaphosa added that the embassy failed to provide concrete evidence of the possible attacks.

He made the comments during his opening address at the start of a state visit by his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez in Pretoria on Thursday.

Ramaphosa assured South Africans that the country's intelligence structures were working around the clock to foil any attempts at terrorism.

Since the alert surfaced, Ramaphosa's administration has been criticised for being caught unaware.

“Following that we were able to engage them [US], and to get to understand precisely where this warning or information has come from. We are in the course of doing precisely that... South Africans should be best informed by the South African government.

“Our agencies as they are getting better at their job of securing our people, are alert and all looking very closely at this type of threat,” he said.

Meanwhile, the organisers of Joburg Pride said the event will go ahead as planned this weekend following warnings of a possible terrorist attack in Sandton.

The planners said the event has not been directly threatened or received any communication from external parties other than the warning issued by the US Embassy via its website.

Since the concerns surfaced, there have been some questions about the country’s capacity to respond to terrorist threats following the catastrophic events of the July 2021 unrest.

But Ramaphosa believes the country’s intelligence structures are better equipped.

Several large gatherings are expected to take place in Sandton at the weekend, including the gay pride parade and peace talks to try to end the Tigray conflict.

Ramaphosa said no call has been made to cancel any gatherings.