The ANC has handed over its cadre deployment records to the DA after a three-year legal battle to avoid disclosing internal party records detailing how it appoints loyalists to public sector posts.
The DA said it would make the records public only once it had studied the documentation, while the ANC said it would hand over only a redacted version of the minutes in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act to protect the personal information of those who had not given consent for its release.
Last week, the apex court dismissed the ANC’s bid to appeal against an order by a lower court to hand over the records of its cadre deployment committee meetings since January 1 2013, when President Cyril Ramaphosa became chair.
“The DA will now study the records to ascertain whether the ANC has complied with the court order in full, which directed it to hand over complete meeting minutes, email correspondence, WhatsApp conversations, CVs and all other relevant documentation dating back to January 2013, DA MP Leon Schreiber said.
“If the ANC has erased and manipulated parts of the information or sought to otherwise undermine the Constitutional Court’s order, the DA will launch further legal action to hold ANC leaders personally accountable.”
The DA threatened to lay criminal charges against the ANC leadership if it failed to hand over the documentation by 5pm on Monday.
This would include using the precedent set in former president Jacob Zuma’s case to go back to court for a contempt order that includes prison time for every one of the ANC’s leaders, DA leader John Steenhuisen said at the party’s manifesto launch at the weekend.
The ANC said it had minutes only of its deployment meetings from 2018 and 2021. The minutes of these meetings were handed over to the state capture commission of inquiry and formed part of Ramaphosa’s testimony to the commission.
“The ANC rejects the DA’s threats to lay charges of contempt of court against our leadership. The ANC has followed all requirements of the Promotion of Access to Information Act in complying with the court order,” it said.
The DA has long challenged the ANC’s cadre deployment policy. It and other opposition parties could use the information to expose the ANC’s failures and scandals.
The ANC has defended the policy as a way of transforming the public service and advancing the interests of the black population. However, opposition parties blame the practice for service delivery failures, with fingers pointed at the ANC for placing appointees in critical roles in departments, agencies and enterprises who often lack the skills, training and experience to run them.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party would continue to implement cadre deployment “to ensure that individuals with impressive qualifications, experience and credentials are deployed”.
The party said the deployment of party members was in line with global best practice, citing a 2007 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development “Analysis on Political Engagement in Senior Staffing and on the Division of Responsibilities Between Ministers and Senior Civil Servants”.
“The report concluded that political involvement in governance is essential for the efficient operation of a democracy. It allows a new political administration to influence policy direction ...
“However, it is equally crucial to protect public services from being abused for narrow party- political objectives. Public services need technical expertise that transcends changes in government,” the party said.
The ANC has conceded its deployment policy had previously been “problematic” but added that it had deployed the best individuals in key positions in government and state-owned entities over the years.
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