DA request comprehensive outlining of ANC’s ‘cadre deployment’ strategy

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has submitted a  Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) request to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking that all minutes and outcomes achieved during meetings involving the “cadre deployment committee” be made comprehensively available to them in the interests of rooting out corruption. 

The DA have suggested that the African National Congress’ alleged history of prejudicial selection of party members to critical public service positions is the “root cause of State Capture”, and that all correspondents dating back to 2013 need to be made available in no less than 30 days.  

Cadre deployment ‘the root cause of State Capture’ 

Leon Schreiber, the DA’s  Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, said in a statement on Sunday 14 February that by submitting a PAIA request in terms of section 56 of the act, the DA wants to dismantle cadre deployment altogether and keep a close ey on the goings on in the “the smoke-filled backrooms of Luthuli House”. 

“In our ongoing quest to dismantle cadre deployment, which is the root cause of state capture and corruption in South Africa, the DA has submitted a Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) request to Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as president of the ANC. In the PAIA, we request Ramaphosa to provide the DA with a complete record of minutes for every meeting of the ANC’s cadre deployment committee that took place since 1 January 2013 – when Ramaphosa reportedly became chairperson of the committee. According to section 56 of PAIA, he has 30 days to respond to our request,” he said. 

“In addition to requesting detailed minutes of discussions held at each meeting of the committee, we also want access to a list of all decisions taken by the committee, a list of all documents – including vacancy advertisements and CVs – considered by the committee, and copies of all correspondence informing organs of state of the decisions taken by the committee.”

Schreiber said that the request is underlined by the directive that a private body “must” grant access “to any record of a private body if that record is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.” 

“As we explain to Ramaphosa in our request, the DA strongly believes that the public has the right to know the extent to which the ANC has used cadre deployment to circumvent section 197 (3) of the Constitution, which provides that ‘no employee of the public service may be favoured or prejudiced only because that person supports a particular political party or cause’.”

PAIA act implemented in the interests of equality 

Schreiber said that the request is centred around protecting the right to equality of all South Africans, as outlined in section 9 of the Bill of Rights. 

“The South African public has a right to know what goes on in the smoke-filled backrooms of Luthuli House during meetings of Ramaphosa’s cadre deployment committee,” he said. 

“They have a right to know the full truth of how cadre deployment has robbed hard-working professionals of opportunities in the public service, because the ANC has elevated “loyalty” to the party above competence and merit,” he said, adding that cadre deployment is the fundamental reason behind “collapsing service delivery and out-of-control corruption everywhere the ANC governs”. 

“They have a right to know that the key reason why the DA is so much more effective at service delivery and good governance than any other party in South Africa, is because we value competence over politics, do not have a cadre deployment committee, and resolutely uphold the separation between party and state,” he concluded.