The ANC and DA accused each other in Parliament of cadre deployment during a debate. File Picture
The fight between the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) over cadre deployment policy ratcheted up in Parliament, with the official opposition saying it will on Friday file fresh papers against the ANC for contempt of court after it did not hand over all the records of the deployment committee.
But ANC members in the House accused the DA of implementing cadre deployment in the Western Cape and other municipalities where it governs.
ANC MPs said the DA was using double standards when it comes to cadre deployment.
Parliament was debating the professionalisation of the public service when the issue of cadre deployment became the subject of discussion.
ANC MPs Jeanine Nothnagel and Teliswa Mgweba said the DA was using double standards when it comes to cadre deployment because it was practising it where it governs.
They said the DA’s Federal Executive (FedEx) was deploying party loyalists to key and strategic positions where the DA was in charge.
Leon Screiber of the DA said since they won their case in the Constitutional Court two weeks ago, they will now go for provincial and regional structures of the ANC to hand over records of their cadre deployment committees.
However, he said they will on Friday file fresh papers in court for contempt charges against the ANC for failing to hand over all records of the deployment committee when President Cyril Ramaphosa was its chairperson.
Schreiber said they want records from January 1, 2013 until 2018.
He also said they submitted a request to the ANC on Thursday for the release of records of cadre deployment committees in provinces and regions.
“The DA yesterday submitted a new request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act to similarly expose complete records of the ANC’s dozens of provincial and regional cadre deployment committees that have collapsed service delivery in all ANC-run provinces and municipalities. The ANC has 30 days to hand over these records,” said Schreiber.
He said the DA has in the past five years intensified its campaign against cadre deployment, and this included petitions, court action, legislation in Parliament and asking questions to ministers.
But Mgweba said there was nothing wrong with the ANC using the cadre deployment policy.
She said cadre deployment was practised all over the world.
“Cadre deployment is a universally accepted practise. In the context of the ANC, we deploy cadres who have the requisite skills, qualifications and competencies to pursue our agenda of transforming society. The deployment of cadres in the ANC is informed by the development, deployment and accountability in line with the obligations of the ANC constitution, and that of our country.
“There is evidence in the City of Tshwane and the Western Cape that the DA itself has been practising its own version of deployment of its leaders and members into positions of administration where the party governs. This includes a parallel process of the DA Federal Executive candidates for employment in the DA-led municipalities as described by honourable Alan Winde in a submission to the Public Protector in 2021 in which he correctly argued that such internal rules and processes are widespread and common,” said Mgweba.
She added that the fact that the High Court in Pretoria rejected the DA’s application to declare cadre deployment unconstitutional and unlawful showed that there was nothing wrong with this policy.
siyabonga.mkhhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics