DA seeks new body to deal with ANC cadre deployment, corruption

THE DA has compiled evidence on the ANC’S cadre deployment committee and will lodge a formal complaint to the Public Service Commission (PSC). The complaint will request that the PSC, as the constitutional custodian of the public service, investigate each and every one of the appointments contained in the ANC’S cadre deployment committee minutes.

“In cases where the PSC confirms illegality, the DA will insist that those appointment processes are rerun and that, this time, skilled applicants are not excluded simply because they are not cadre of the corrupt ANC,” said DA MP Leon Schreiber.

He also said they found out that the cadre deployment committee reserves certain jobs for certain ANC loyalists and discusses appointments of public servants.

The ANC’S cadre deployment policies were laid bare by the minutes obtained by the State Capture Commission. Last week, the commission released minutes of the ANC cadre deployment committee meetings between 2018 and 2020.

The minutes showed that the committee discusses candidates for bodies like the South African Human Rights Commission, the Commission for Gender Equality, as well as the appointment of judges.

A second batch of meeting minutes of the ANC cadre deployment committee dating from between May and November 2018 has been obtained by the DA.

Schreiber said their analysis found that during the Cyril Ramaphosa presidency from May 2018 to May 2021, the committee intervened in appointment processes at 88 different state institutions, including courts, chapter 9 institutions, state-owned enterprises (SOES) and government departments.

“During this three-year period, the committee summoned 29 ministers and deputy ministers, as well as Ramaphosa himself, to direct the appointment of ANC cadres to key positions.”

Schreiber defended the proposed hiring of former MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela as adviser to Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. “We will never have cadre deployment. There are certain political appointments that can be made in terms of advisers.”

The DA’S deputy chief whip, Siviwe Gwarube MP, said: “The DA will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly for an urgent debate of national importance on the devastating effects of cadre deployment on the public service and the fight against corruption. We will ensure that our proposed end cadre deployment bill is prioritised in Parliament and that this matter is dealt with urgently. Parliament must find solutions to fix our problems and instil accountability.”

The party is drafting legislation to promote and create a new, independent Chapter 9 institution called the Anti-corruption Commission. The main objective of the proposed commission will be to investigate, among other functions, high-level corruption cases.

“This independent institution is long overdue, as the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) is not sufficiently independent, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is currently besieged by systemic challenges.

“This will provide a quicker, more efficient, and effective method of dealing with the type of grand-scale corruption we see daily, but which cannot be dealt with effectively within current existing and overburdened structures,” said the DA’S Glynnis Breytenbach

In April last year, Ramaphosa defended the ANC’S cadre deployment committee when he appeared before the commission. He said it is an important part of implementing the ruling party’s mandate.