In latest victory against cadre deployment, DA defeats ANC’s attempt to seal records
13 June 2023
The DA has today registered another victory against ANC cadre deployment corruption after the Johannesburg High Court rejected an ANC application for leave to appeal an earlier ruling, which had ordered the party to release complete records of its national cadre deployment committee dating back to 1 January 2013.
The court found that “there is no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal, nor is there any reason to refer the appeal to another court. The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs.” As a result of today’s ruling, the original ruling stands, which means that the ANC has five days to hand over to the DA complete records of its cadre deployment committee, including meeting minutes, Whatsapp conversations, email threads, CVs and all other relevant documents.
The records, dating back to 1 January 2013, cover the period when President Cyril Ramaphosa was chairman of the ANC’s cadre deployment committee. This was during the height of state capture, when Ramaphosa’s committee “deployed” the corrupt people who captured and corrupted the state. The fact that the ANC fought tooth and nail to hide these records from the public suggests that the documents will, for the very first time, expose Ramaphosa’s personal complicity in state capture and corruption as cadre deployment chairman.
The system of cadre deployment locks skilled applicants out of employment in the state. It is also the root cause of service delivery failures, because it leads to the appointment of “cadres” on the basis of loyalty to the ANC, rather than on merit. In exchange for this “deployment,” state officials are expected to serve the interests of the ANC, including through corruption and patronage, rather than the people of South Africa.
As the champion of good governance and anti-corruption in South Africa, the DA will not rest until we have defeated cadre deployment corruption once and for all.
Issued by Leon Schreiber, DA Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, 13 June 2023
