INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

DA defence spokesman David Maynier. Photo: Sam Clark

A proposed new “spy bill” has triggered fresh fears that the Zuma government is set on creating a security state similar to that which existed in Communist East Germany where the secret service, the Stasi, existed, notoriously, to keep tabs on opponents and critics of the governing party.

Significantly, the proposed Intelligence General Laws Amendment Bill would, among other things, allow the secret services to tap the private communications of ordinary citizens without a warrant.

It would also formalise the amalgamation of the National Intelligence Agency, which focuses on domestic intelligence, and the SA Secret Service, which collects foreign intelligence, into a single, centralised and powerful intelligence body, the State Security Agency (SSA).

Also to be absorbed in the proposed new structure is the little-known interception centre, the National Communications Centre, a hi-tech facility designed to intercept electronic communications on a massive scale.

A key criticism of the bill is that it does not sufficiently take into account the recommendations of the Matthews Report of 2008, which was commissioned by former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils and which highlights the need for reforming SA’s intelligence services.

Kasrils is known to be concerned about the government’s failure to heed the recommendations, which included tightening control over the involvement of intelligence agencies in domestic political affairs.

DA defence spokesman David Maynier said the proposed bill signalled that a process of “Stasification” was under way in the state security department.

The concerns come in the wake of other legislation in the pipeline that makes the state more secretive, among them the highly contested Protection of State Information Bill, also known as the Secrecy Bill.

Murray Hunter, national co-ordinator of the Right2Know Campaign, said he feared the draft intelligence bill foreshadowed the resurgence of a shadow state.

“This new bill – along with the Secrecy Bill – demonstrates that we have a state security cluster in the government which is operating with not very much scrutiny and accountability to the public.” - Political Bureau