Johnathan Paoli
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the recent concern over cadre deployment was an attempt by the opposition to use the courts as political tools.
Mbalula made these remarks on Thursday during the ruling party’s media briefing on the state of readiness for the Mayihlome Manifesto Launch Rally and as well as other political developments.
The party’s SG was responding to the recent attacks by the DA on the constitutionality of what it has termed the “scourge of cadre deployment”; and pointed out that it was a common practice across the globe and utilised by several other democratic regimes.
“There has also been a concerted effort by the anti-transformation forces to use the courts in their fight to slow down, stop or reverse the transformation agenda by trying to impose a conservative interpretation of the constitution and law of the republic,” Mbalula said.
This comes on the heels of the North Gauteng high court’s ruling on Wednesday that the DA had failed to prove that the ANC’s deployment committee unlawfully interfered in government appointments.
The case was argued before a full bench of judges in January, where the official opposition argued the policy allowed corruption to thrive and facilitated the looting of state coffers, and the DA has expressed its intention to challenge the ruling.
On Monday, the ruling party handed over its cadre deployment records to the DA, following an order by the Constitutional court, with reports emerging that the ANC attempted to influence the appointment within the ranks of the judiciary.
Describing the contents of the document as “a racketeering syndicate that has corrupted the State“, the DA’s Leon Schreiber said they will work diligently to unveil the network of cadre deployment.
“ANC cadre deployment laid the foundation for state capture, for systemic corruption, and for the service delivery collapse that caused load shedding, water-shedding, and the accelerating failure of the State,” he said.
However, Mbalula rejected the claims of political inappropriateness and said the deployment committee did not hold the powers to hire or fire applicants for positions and that it had no mandate to “micromanage the State”.
In addition, the ruling party has described the DA’s attempts as hypocritical with spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri saying that it was only a matter of time before her party exposes documents which revealed the DA’s own use of deployment in both the municipalities of Cape Town and Tshwane.
DA leader John Steenhuisen has rejected the claims and said that any appointments made in the municipalities were based solely on meritocracy.
The opposition party is expected to host a media briefing on Friday where it will unpack some of the details that emerged from the documents handed over by the ANC.
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