DA takes cadre deployment challenge to court

By Kaya 959 News

The DA will go head to head with the ANC over the issue of cadre deployment. This comes after the ruling party declined to comply with the opposition party’s earlier application calling for cadre deployment records.

The DA’s Dr Leon Schreiber said the papers will be lodged in the South Gauteng High Court this week.

“We will ask the court to compel the ANC to hand over complete records of all deliberations and decisions taken by the ANC cadre deployment committee since 1 January 2013 when current president Cyril Ramaphosa became its chairperson,” he said.

READ: Phumzile van Damme: ‘I remain a member of the DA’

Schreiber said they know the records exist because the ANC previously indicated as much in their previous correspondence.

He said the ANC has used cadre deployment to circumvent the Constitution’s injunction, contained in section 197 (3), that no public servant may be favoured or prejudiced because they support a particular political party or cause.

“We have long held that the ANC’s cadre deployment committee unethically interferes with government appointment processes by conferring an unfair advantage on candidates who are deemed ‘loyal’ to the party,” he said.

Cadre deployment under the spotlight

If the DA is successful in obtaining access to the records, Schreiber said they will finally be able to prove our argument and, in the process, hopefully kneecap the entire system of cadre deployment.

“Victory in this case has the potential to undermine one of the most evil policies that the ANC uses to promote its National Democratic Revolution at the direct expense of service delivery to South African citizens.”

He said because of cadre deployment, incompetent and corrupt officials have been systematically appointed to positions of power throughout the state.

Schreiber said in return, they abuse their positions to funnel tenders and the proceeds of corruption back into the pockets of the party that has given itself the unconstitutional power to appoint them.

“It is this vicious cycle, with cadre deployment at its core, that has brought our state to its knees. The court case now gives us a chance to begin undoing the near-fatal damage it has inflicted upon our state.”

State Capture

The court application is also of fundamental importance to South Africa’s ongoing reckoning with state capture.

“With the exception of Barbara Hogan, every senior ANC official who has testified in front of the State Capture Commission so far – including Jacob Zuma, Gwede Mantashe, and Cyril Ramaphosa – has tried to deny the role played by cadre deployment in facilitating state capture.”

Schreiber said during his testimony, President Cyril Ramaphosa even explicitly stated that his cadre deployment committee “would not have dealt with” the appointments of, among others, Dudu Myeni, Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama, Phetolo Ramosebudi, Anoj Singh, Matshele Koko, Ben Ngubane, Arthur Fraser, Tom Moyane, Berning Ntlemeza, Shaun Abrahams, Iqbal Sharma, Mafika Mkhwanazi, as well as the boards of Denel, SAA, and PRASA.

“Ramaphosa wants us to believe that despite being the chairperson of a committee that exists for the sole purpose of appointing ANC cadres to positions of power, he somehow had no knowledge whatsoever of these appointments,” Schreiber said.

He added that the DA did not believe Ramaphosa.

“That is why, should we win this case, we will be cross-checking every single word of Zuma, Mantashe, and Ramaphosa’s testimony in front of judge Zondo against the hard evidence contained in the cadre deployment records,” he said.

Written by: Tamlyn

ANC cadre deployment DA