The ANC has admitted its cadre deployment policy, which sees party loyalists recommended for appointment in strategic public sector posts, is plagued with weaknesses and open to abuse.
However, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party did not take responsibility for individuals who had been deployed to various public institutions that had been subjected to maladministration and corruption.
“There are people who have run institutions to the ground, but it’s not the fault of cadre deployment, it’s the failure of those particular individuals,” Mbalula said.
He added just because the policy was open to abuse, this did not mean it should be discarded because it spurred transformation and the policy was in line with international 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”.
Cadre deployment has been blamed 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, competence or training and experience to run them.
Mbalula mounted a fresh defence of the party’s deployment policy on Thursday ahead of the ANC’s election manifesto launch this weekend where it will outline plans to remain in power for the next five years.
He said the deployment committee did not deal with issues of accountability or micromanage with the recommended candidates to public sector posts because that would amount to being rogue.
“The deployment does not fire people... if you are deployed you are expected to do what is right.”
The governing party’s deployment policy has come under fire after it handed over to the DA records of its deployments after a Constitutional Court ruling. The high court on Wednesday, however, dismissed the opposition party’s bid to have the court declare cadre deployment unconstitutional and unlawful, saying the DA’s case was “built on speculation and conjecture”.
The governing party subsequently released records it handed over to the DA to show how the party plays a key role in the appointment of CEOs of state-owned enterprises, directors- general of government departments and heads of departments in provinces.
Some of the appointments mentioned in the records include Prasa, state arms manufacturer Denel, SAA, logistics company Transnet and power utility Eskom.
Shortlisted candidates for executive positions were advertised and the final candidates chosen with the input of the political head of the government department, the records showed.
“All ministers must provide the boards and the advertisements. It is important that we set our scope,” the records showed, referring to the appointment of a new CEO of the Industrial Development Corporation in 2018.
In another example, the committee recommended former unionist Frans Baleni to be the chair of PetroSA to rebuild the entity that has been facing governance and operational issues. Months later Baleni was announced as the entity’s chair, but only remained in the position for two years for reasons which the company refused to disclose.
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 President Cyril Ramaphosa’s testimony to the commission.
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