ANALYSIS | Draconian new Intelligence Bill: A three-point blueprint for State Capture 3.0

The General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, coming on the heels of the Zondo Commission, was an opportunity for SA's top executive - especially President Cyril Ramaphosa - to show they were serious about intelligence reform. Instead, it paves the way for State Capture 3.0, writes Heidi Swart. 

Want to start a "non-governmental organisation", "religious institution" or "private security company"? You may need security clearance from the state intelligence services if the new General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill (GILAB 2022) becomes law.

The bill per se is no surprise. Major issues in the State Security Agency (SSA), South Africa's lead intelligence organisation, emerged from the report of the 2018 High Level Presidential Review Panel's (HLRP) investigation of the SSA. These included the "serious politicisation and factionalisation of the intelligence community" and "an almost complete disregard for the Constitution, policy, legislation and other prescripts". During the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, witnesses testified about the SSA's infiltration of civil society organisations, political factionalism, and large-scale looting of the secret account funds.