Johnathan Paoli
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed the ANC’s leave for appeal, on Monday, against an earlier ruling of the Johannesburg High Court concerning the complete sharing of information on cadre deployment with the DA.
The SCA ruling read that the application for leave to appeal was dismissed, with costs, on the grounds that there were no reasonable prospects of success in an appeal and there was no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.
This follows on a ruling made earlier this year, where the Joburg court declared the ANC’s refusal to release its cadre deployment committee’s minutes, WhatsApp conversations, emails, CVs, and other records “unlawful and invalid”.
DA Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, Leon Schreiber, brought the application claiming that the records of the ANC’s cadre deployment committee were required due to the fact that the committee’s policies and practices influenced who was appointed to key state institutions.
In addition, the opposition party started another application in the Pretoria High Court earlier this year, in an attempt to declare the practice of cadre deployment itself as unconstitutional and unlawful, and is still awaiting judgement.
“The combined effect of these two court cases will be to both pierce the veil of secrecy that shrouds cadre deployment and to smash the foundations upon which it is built,” the DA said.
The party praised the ruling and said that defeating cadre deployment, especially ahead of elections next year, remains an essential part of the groundwork being laid in anticipation of taking over government in 2024.
INSIDE POLITICS
