Political parties in the National Assembly (NA) have used a debate on the professionalisation of the public service as a platform to express their views on the ANC’s cadre deployment policy.
DA MP, Leon Schreiber, told MPs that following its success in the courts to force the ANC to hand over its national cadre deployment committee records, the DA has now sought the records of the lower committees at provincial and regional levels.
The party says it has also filed fresh papers to hold ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula in contempt of court for failure to hand over all the documents of the cadre deployment committee since 2013 when President Cyril Ramaphosa became its chairperson.
“But before Mr Mbalula dons those orange overalls, he should check his emails. The DA yesterday launched a new request in terms of PAIA to similarly expose complete records of the ANC – dozens of provincial and regional cadre deployment committees that have collapsed service delivery in all the ANC-run provinces and municipalities. The ANC has 30 days to hand over these new records. And all I can see is tik-tok,” says Schreiber.
Unfiltered | Is cadre deployment justifiable?
The African National Congress (ANC) in parliament has defended its cadre deployment policy. The party says cadre deployment is an internationally accepted practice.
ANC MP, Teliswa Mgweba told a debate on the professionalisation of the public service in the National Assembly that the party uses cadre deployment in pursuit of its agenda to advance transformation.
She says the DA’s campaign against cadre deployment was defeated when the high court ruled recently that there is nothing wrong with political parties influencing the policy direction of the government.
“Cadre deployment is a universally accepted practice. In the context of the ANC, we deploy cadres who have the requisite skills, (and) qualifications to pursue our agenda of transformers transforming society. The deployment of cadres in the ANC is informed by the development, deployment in line with ANC constitution and that of our country,” says Mgweba.
