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The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that Mo Shaik is exactly the wrong person to be appointed as the head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and we will oppose his nomination, if indeed his name is put forward.

A ministerial review commission completed in 2008 found that the intelligence services - including the NIA - were in a mess. The commission was concerned that the NIA had become politicised and found that:

there was a wide mandate for the NIA to gather political intelligence;
some methods of intrusive surveillance were unconstitutional; and
a policy culture persists in the spy agencies that insists they should be allowed to "bend the rules".

The appointment of Mo Shaik, who is an important political ally and close personal friend of President Jacob Zuma, would no doubt fan political flames within the NIA. Mo Shaik is deeply involved in faction fights within the ruling party, and we must therefore assume that his appointment will further politicise the NIA.

President Zuma has set about deploying all those people most loyal to him, to key positions in the state. Significantly (and increasingly) these cadres are being deployed to positions which should be independent of the state and to positions which, at the very least, should be defined by that person's expertise in a given area, as opposed to their political credentials. It was this trend that defined much about the centralised, autocratic and, ultimately, factionalised nature of government under Thabo Mbeki. If Jacob Zuma is to put clear blue water between his administration and that of his predecessor, he needs to start by putting excellence and merit ahead of loyalty and political affiliation.

Mo Shaik's appointment as head of the NIA would be a step in the wrong direction and will be opposed by the Democratic Alliance.