South Africa: Headed Towards Totalitarianism?

PJ Media/ By  Hussein Solomon/

William-Kentridge

There is much turmoil at the top in South Africa today. A messy succession battle in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) rages, during which intelligence services have been increasingly politicized to serve the aims of competing factions. The constitution is under fire, as are other democratic institutions from an increasingly powerful party apparatus to which the state is subservient. Indeed, since the ascent of the ANC to power in 1994, the line between party and state has increasingly become blurred.

A new, innocuous-sounding General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill fits into this context. On the surface, this change makes perfect sense: who wouldn’t want a streamlined intelligence structure curtailing duplication and cutting out wasteful expenditure? The bill provides for a merger of the domestic National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the foreign-oriented South African Secret Service (SASS) into one organization.

However, as several South African journalists have pointed out, the bill concentrates a lot of power in the hands of Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele and others seeking to increase government power, leaders who often use it in service to a specific ANC faction.

For example: since 2005, the NIA has been something of a political football used by the backers of former President Thabo Mbeki and current President Jacob Zuma against each other as they fought for the presidency of the ruling party — the ANC — and the presidency of the country.  More >>