The appointment of Mo Shaik, the brother of convicted fraudster, Shabir, who is also a close ally of President Jacob Zuma, to head Secret Service was an "ANC reward", political parties said on Friday.

"This appointment has clearly been made to consolidate the Zuma faction's hold over the South African intelligence community," said Democratic Alliance MP Theo Coetzee in a statement.

"How could it possibly be appropriate for a close personal friend of the President, indeed, the brother of the man convicted for his 'generally corrupt relationship' with the President, to be appointed to a senior post within the intelligence ranks?" Coetzee asked.

"It also beggars belief that the seemingly incompetent Mzuvukile Maqetuka has been appointed to head up the new South African Security Agency.

"Maqetuka's disastrous reign as director-general of Home Affairs saw that department reduced to a state of disrepair," Coetzee said.

Adding that Maqetuka's inability "to put even basic systems into place caused the delivery of services to grind to a halt and we are today living with the results".

"Once again we have the ANC rewarding and promoting incompetence," Coetzee said.

Cope not surprised

Congress of the People spokesperson Phillip Dexter said the party was not surprised by the appointment of Shaik, but it was concerned.

"Shaik has distinguished himself as being unprofessional, partisan and has even breached state security by releasing classified information to the public during the Hefer Commission," he said.

"That President Zuma can so blatantly reward the loyalty of Shaik with this appointment bodes nothing but ill for our democracy," Dexter said.

FF Plus MP Pieter Groenewald said the appointment of Shaik, who has served in the ANC's international underground structures, "is further proof that loyal political supporters are still being appointed to top positions by the ANC leadership".

He said the Shaik family ties with Zuma were controversial and the appointment should have therefore been avoided.

"Mo Shaik initially resigned from the public service to assist with the Shaik family business and what has changed now to warrant his appointment as the new head of the South African Secret Service?"

"In the Secret Service industry, controversy should always be avoided and Shaik's appointment is controversial per se," Groenewald said.

News: Secret Service gets Shaik-up