High court dismisses cadre deployment claims by DA

The Pretoria High Court tore to shreds the Democratic Alliance (DA) court application on cadre deployment saying it was unconstitutional and called into question the opposition party’s interpretation of the state capture report. 

According to the Mail & Guardian, the DA argued that the ANC used the cadre deployment policy as a mechanism to control public administration, which it said had led to state capture and the erosion of independent institutions.

NO EVIDENCE TO BACK UP CLAIMS MADE BY THE DA – COURT

“The DA makes no case as to why a policy of a voluntary association must comply with the PSA [Public Service Act]. It does not even make a case to demonstrate that the government is bound to comply with the policy when making senior appointments to public service. It lays no factual predicate to demonstrate the infringement of the sections of PSA,” the court said.

It said that to conclude that the committee takes power from the minister, is directly involved in interviews and selection of candidates, and influences appointments of judicial officers, the court would need to determine what happened at the particular time of the appointment.

NO LINK BETWEEN STATE CAPTURE AND ANC CADRE DEPLOYMENT

“We must first record that it is not common cause that the policy has resulted in corruption, maladministration, and state capture. Thus far, the DA has not placed any admissible evidence before the court to sustain these claims,” the court said.

The court also ruled that there was no suggestion in Zondo’s report indicating that the state capture commission found that the ANC’s cadre deployment policy was unconstitutional. 

DA IS TRYING TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS – ANC

The DA argued that the constitutional imperatives of accountability, responsiveness and transparency require that the lawfulness of the policy be determined. Meanwhile the ANC argued that the DA had approached the court to score political goals it could not achieve through the ballot box.