Fikile Mbalula, secretary general of the ANC, has once again defended the party’s cadre deployment policy, despite the fact that in the past it was declared “illegal and unconstitutional” by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Mbalula said after the meeting of the ANC’s national working committee (NWK) that the ANC is simply doing what parties do worldwide and that is “deploy strategic people who carry out the party’s manifesto”.
He also argued that cadre deployment has nothing to do with any “misconduct” in government ranks, but rather with “incompetent and corrupt officials” and a complete laziness to implement “progressive policies”.
Mbalula’s words come close on the heels of the ANC’s Court of Appeal application to overturn a High Court ruling. The ruling orders the ANC to hand over all records relating to the party’s cadre deployment committee to the DA. Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa was the chairman of this committee between 2013 and 2017.
Dr. Leon Schreiber, the DA’s spokesperson on public service and administration, says the ANC’s cadre deployment committee interferes with the appointment processes of public service workers “which means the public has an inalienable right to know how this corrupt committee functions”.
He says the ANC’s latest application is a “panicked attempt” to hide the truth about Ramaphosa’s involvement in cadre deployment corruption from South Africans.
“It is clear that the ANC is now desperate to hide the truth about cadre deployment,” he says.
“If there really was nothing sinister about this practice – as the ANC likes to claim – why is the party so desperate to keep it a secret?
“There is only one logical answer: The records are damning and will reveal how the cadre deployment committee under Ramaphosa’s chairmanship illegally interfered with appointment processes to appoint the criminals who hijacked the state.”
However, Mbalula insisted on Thursday that the ANC will defend its policy on cadre deployment.
“This distorted idea that the cadre deployment policy hampers development and social transformation is an exaggeration and distortion (of the truth),” he said.
“The DA knows this is a distortion (of the truth) … that’s why we turned to the court in connection with this case.”
Mbalula says the DA applies cadre deployment itself in the Western Cape, but just doesn’t call it that.
However, Schreiber pledged to continue “fighting for transparency and to reveal the full truth of the complicity of Ramaphosa’s cadre deployment committee in state capture and corruption”.
This week, Zondo once again attacked the red tape of implementing the commission’s recommendations after state capture. This includes the prosecution of any alleged perpetrators.
