SCA rules in favor of the DA in the cadre deployment saga

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein- The African National Congress (ANC) has been given five days to handover complete records of its national cadre deployment committee to the DA.

This after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed the party’s attempt to overturn the Joburg High Court ruling against them which was made in June 2023 regarding cadre deployment.

The SCA ruling which was made on Monday, 4 September, read:

“Having considered the notice of motion and the other documents filed, it is ordered that the application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs on the grounds that there are no reasonable prospects of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.”

This means that the ANC has five working days to hand over all of the records requested by the DA, including meeting minutes, CVs, email correspondence and WhatsApp conversations of the cadre deployment committee dating back to 1 January 2013 when President Cyril Ramaphosa became cadre deployment chairman in former president Jacob Zuma’s administration.

As part of their quest to have cadre deployment declared unconstitutional, in 2021, the DA lodged a petition for the ANC’s records in terms of Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).

Responding to the ruling, DA shadow minister of public service, Dr Leon Schreiber, said with this ruling, the SCA has vindicated the DA’s long-held position that it is illegal for the ANC to hide the way in which it interferes in appointments in public administration in government departments, municipalities and state-owned enterprises.

“For over two decades, a small group of senior ANC figures have regularly met in smoke-filled backrooms at Luthuli House to corrupt appointment processes by ensuring that only loyal cadres of the ANC are appointed to positions of power in the public sector.

“As a result, skilled and meritorious applicants are sidelined, with positions reserved on the basis of loyalty to the ANC,” he said.

It remains to be seen if the ANC will petition the constitution court and take a leaf out of former president, Jacob Zuma’s approach to buy time till national elections.

With the ANC leaders in recent times opting to blame the apartheid for things they can’t fix including good governance, maintainable of water and electricity infrastructure, the party, it’s seems like it’s going to use the “blame apartheid” as part of its election manifesto.

The ANC leader blamed apartheid for lack of town planners when the actual data shows otherwise, this is the sane person who said his party was accused number 1 in corruption.

While the ANC is blaming anyone and anything else, Jo’burg is collapsing, the rand is crambling, there is load shedding and fuel increases.

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