The DA’s albeit failed bid to criminalise cadre deployment was good politics. We all know — the ANC included — the practice has hollowed out most of our state-owned enterprises and the consequences are sinking the economy and impoverishing all of us.
Why does the governing party persist with this fatal course? To stay in power. The unpalatable truth is that if the ANC loses the (corruptly purchased) support of its power brokers, the party will implode. An extremist such as Julius Malema would be the likely heir.
What is to be done? First, we must recognise the real world dynamics at play. Merely expressing disgust at our horrific levels of corruption and incompetence is naive. Secondly, we must understand and accept that cadre deployment will continue until we replace it with a less damaging patronage mechanism.
This mechanism is to hand in the various state grants extended to political parties. They amount to between R1bn and R2bn rand a year — a drop in the bucket compared with the ANC patronage “tax”, which I estimate at R50bn-plus a year.
This staggering amount is the likely (minimum) total of the rent-seeking and inflated invoice gouging that serves to keep the most influential supporters of the governing party happy.
Of course we should act against cadre deployment and all it entails. However, as and when corrupt patronage mechanisms are phased out we will have to replace them with legitimate grants to political parties.
Direct grants, enacted through parliament, would be far less damaging to the economy and social fabric than cadre deployment.
Willem Cronje
Cape Town
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