Cadre deployment over competence has crippled SA

The focus of the Zondo commission has been on how state capture has crippled our country – but it is not only looting of state funds which has brought us to our knees… the eye-watering incompetence of the ANC’s “deployed” cadres has collapsed government departments and parastatals.

The release of the minutes of the ANC’s deployment committee meetings has laid bare how the ruling party predetermined the appointment of judges, Chapter 9 institution heads and SOE boards in a manner which the DA has described as “making a mockery of state appointment processes”.

Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said as much in the first instalment of his report on state capture, noting that the destruction of functioning government departments and state-owned enterprises happened “under the watch of the government of the ruling party”.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa suggests some Zuma appointments ‘not fit for purpose’

The ANC, he added, “failed dismally to make any effective interventions to halt the decline. Either they did not care, or they slept on the job, or they had no clue what to do”.

While the focus of Zondo may have been on the corruption and looting of the state capture project, the pervasive influence of the ANC’s deployment committee – of which President Cyril Ramaphosa was chair during his term as deputy president – shows the corrosive impact of party loyalty on a once-functioning country.

Loyalty to the ANC would have got the cadres their deployment in the first place – and they would have returned the favour by making the party their primary consideration. Even if looting were not the objective of the deployments, the nepotism resulted in incompetent, inexperienced or unqualified people being deployed to key positions.

Before it is too late and there is nothing left to save, we urge the ANC to allow merit and ability, rather than party loyalty, to be the criteria for critical appointments.