The African National Congress (ANC) has lost its appeal in the Constitutional Court against an earlier court decision to hand over all cadre deployment records to the official opposition.
The Constitutional Court has ordered the ANC to hand over the records to the Democratic Alliance (DA) within five days.
The ANC went to the apex court after it lost the case in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein to hand over the cadre deployment records, stretching back from 2013.
At the time, President Cyril Ramaphosa was the ANC deputy president after he was elected at the party’s conference in December 2012 in Mangaung.
Ramaphosa chaired the deployment committee until he became president of the party in December 2017.
The Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that the ANC must hand over all records of the deployment committee.
“The Constitutional Court has considered the application for condonation and the application for leave to appeal and has concluded that, although the application should be dismissed as it is not in the interests of justice for leave to appeal to be granted, the delay in bringing the application for leave to appeal is minimal, the explanation for the delay is adequate and there is no prejudice to the respondent. Consequently, condonation is granted, but leave to appeal must be refused, as it is not in the interests of justice to hear the matter,” read the judgment of the court.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said they have noted the judgment.
She said the practice of cadre deployment was not exclusive to the ANC.
She said other parties in South Africa practised it and this was also done overseas.
The DA has over the last few months been trying to get the ANC’s cadre deployment records since Ramaphosa appeared before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture a few years ago.
At the time, Ramaphosa told the commission they could not find some of the records of the meetings of the deployment committee.
Bhengu-Motsiri said they will study the judgment of the Constitutional Court.
“The ANC has noted the judgment of the Constitutional Court on cadre deployment which is a practice not exclusive to the ANC both in South Africa and abroad. The ANC will study the judgment to ensure that it is adhered to accordingly,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
DA MP and its spokesperson on public service and administration Leon Schreiber said this was a victory for South Africa.
He said cadre deployment laid the foundation for state capture and at the time Ramaphosa was chairperson of the deployment committee of the ANC.
Schreiber said the judgment was clear that the ANC must hand over all minutes of the meetings of the deployment committee, CVs, email threads, WhatsApp discussions and other relevant documents from 2013.
This will paint a picture of how people were appointed into key and strategic positions in state organs.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics