Lex Libertas challenges every party in Parliament to declare its position on proposed digital ID system

PRETORIA – Lex Libertas has sent a formal letter to the leaders of every political party represented in the South African Parliament, calling on them to state publicly whether they support or oppose the Department of Home Affairs’ proposed digital identity system.

The South Africa-based think tank and advocacy group warns that the proposal raises serious constitutional concerns and could significantly expand the state’s capacity to monitor, control and exclude citizens.

Lex Libertas’ concerns include:

• • Surveillance infrastructure: Every digital ID verification would be centrally logged and retained for at least seven years in the state’s records, creating a detailed long-term record of citizens’ activities and interactions.
• • De facto compulsion: Although presented as voluntary, the system could become effectively compulsory for banking, employment, grants, healthcare and essential services.
• • Home Affairs’ poor record: Chronic system failures, corruption and unsuccessful IT projects raise serious doubts about the Department’s ability to manage a centralised biometric system responsibly.
• • A low-trust environment: Weak public confidence and institutional accountability make such extensive state access to citizens’ information particularly dangerous.
• • Excessive concentration of power: The regulations would grant broad discretionary authority to the Director-General without adequate independent oversight.
• • Ideological and political risk: Creating surveillance and control infrastructure is reckless under a government that has repeatedly expressed admiration for authoritarian, centralised regimes.

Dr Ernst Roets, executive director of Lex Libertas, said political parties should not be allowed to remain silent on a proposal with such far-reaching implications.

‘This is one of the most important questions relating to freedom, privacy and constitutional government currently before the country. Every political party has a duty to tell the public clearly whether it supports a system that could fundamentally expand state surveillance and control over citizens’ lives,’ Roets said.

Lex Libertas has launched the Stop Digital ID campaign and has already received thousands of expressions of opposition from concerned members of the public. The organisation has called for the draft regulations to be withdrawn in their current form.

Lex Libertas will publish the responses received from political parties so that voters can judge for themselves where each party stands on the proposed system.

• • A generic version of the full letter sent to party leaders can be read here.
• The Stop Digital ID campaign can be supported here: https://www.lexlibertas.org.za/campaigns/stopdigitalid

Lex Libertas is a think tank and advocacy group working towards a viable political dispensation in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom, decentralisation and self-governance.