‘It’s a very good policy’ – Mashatile defends ANC’s cadre deployment policy

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has defended the African National Congress (ANC) controversial cadre deployment policy.

Mashatile appeared before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to answer questions for oral reply on Thursday.

Cadre deployment vs service delivery

DA’s Hildegard Boshoff told Mashatile cadre deployment had led to the lack of service delivery as many officials within the municipalities did not possess the necessary qualifications, a comment the deputy president disagreed with.

He said it was “incorrect” to link cadre deployment with service delivery challenges faced by the country’s municipalities.

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“Nobody is deployed in government unless they go through a rigorous process,” said Mashatile.

“If the government advertises a DG post, and ANC feels a comrade is the best for that position, we recommend to him to apply like everybody else, so the process is transparent. The comrade will be interviewed like anybody else, and he won’t be appointed if he fails.

“Some people may have come, and the ANC likes them but failed to get through. We don’t just say ‘You’re an ANC member; please go and be a DG’. We want your qualifications and check them. There is a process of vetting that takes place.

“Don’t be worried about cadre development policy; it’s a very good policy because it ensures that you prepare your people for this tough process; you train them. A lot of people are being trained in the ANC; we even have a school, the OR Tambo Leadership Academy. We train people all the time because we want the best of the best to go and do the job.”

ALSO READ: ANC’s cadre deployment policy needs to go

Mashatile further dismissed comments by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that the ANC moves its failed municipal managers around instead of removing them.

He said if the ANC did that, “it would be a disservice to the [people of South Africa”.

“There is no single manager that the ANC would have taken who has failed somewhere and take them somewhere else. We’ve never done that. Even in parliament, we don’t bring in the NCOP people we think have failed somewhere or in the National Assembly. We don’t do that.”

The ruling party has repeatedly failed to conceal its cadre deployment records in its court bids.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed its application to appeal a high court judgment ordering the governing party to release its deployment committee records to the Democratic Alliance (DA).

ALSO READ: ANC favoured loyalty over competence – now cadre deployment has come back to bite it

The DA initially lodged a request for the ANC’s records in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) in 2021 as part of the party’s pursuit to have cadre deployment declared unconstitutional and illegal.

Committee minutes

The ANC deployment committee’s minutes from 2018 to 2021 revealed how the party ran a parallel process to fill specific positions at several government departments, agencies and SOE boards.

According to the minutes from a meeting held on 22 March 2019, the committee preselected the appointment of judges for vacant posts in the judiciary.

At the time, the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) had two vacant positions, while the SCA had one.

ALSO READ: ANC ordered to pay costs as party loses bid to keep cadre deployment records secret

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the deployment policy during his testimony at the State Capture Commission, arguing the policy was an important part of implementing the ANC’s mandate.

The ANC has also argued that all political parties had the right to suggest who should be appointed to key positions in the public service.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa