ConCourt rules against ANC in battle over cadre deployment records
The ANC has lost its Constitutional Court bid to appeal an earlier ruling ordering it to hand over all its records and documents relating to cadre deployment.
The governing party has five working days to hand over the full records, dating back to 1 January 2013, to the Democratic Alliance.
The ruling comes after the ANC approached the apex court in an effort to overturn earlier judgments by the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, which both ruled in the DA's favour.
The DA filed legal papers against the ANC last year to have the governing party’s cadre deployment policy declared unconstitutional and unlawful.
It believes the ANC’s policy to reward loyal members has come at the cost of delivery for the rest of South Africa and wants the policy scrapped from the ANC‘s books.
The DA's Leon Schreiber says the latest ruling will force the ANC to reveal exactly how the so-called cadre deployment committee laid the foundation for state capture by interfering in public appointment processes.
"It also sets a powerful new precedent that empowers all South Africans to use the Promotion of Access to Information Act to force the ANC to reveal how it interferes in appointments.
“The DA encourages any South African who has been overlooked for a public sector job to use this precedent to force the ANC to reveal how it uses cadre deployment to block skilled applicants from being appointed in order to favour its chosen cadres.
“The case is also of historic significance in the ongoing battle against state capture. The records are set to reveal, once and for all, that President Cyril Ramaphosa was personally involved in the state capture project in his capacity as cadre deployment chairman.
The State Capture Commission has already confirmed that the ANC deployment committee was a key cog in the machine that corrupted and collapsed the public sector because it was this committee that illegally intervened to ensure the appointment of the people who captured the state, added Schreiber.
In its judgment on Monday, the Constitutional Court said it was not in the interest of justice for leave of appeal to be granted.
“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.
The matter was dismissed with costs.
Meawhile, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri says the party has noted the judgement.
"The ANC will study the judgement to ensure that it is adhered to accordingly," she said.
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