‘We will never do that’ – ANC KZN secretary says cadre deployment policy won’t be reviewed

ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) secretary Bheki Mtolo has dismissed the suggestion that the ruling party will review its cadre deployment policy.

The role of cadre deployment in the capture of the state’s institutions was one of the main highlights of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture final report.

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In the report, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo concluded that the ANC’s deployment policy was in breach of the Constitution and the Public Service Act, among others, because the policy prejudiced candidates who were not preferred by the party.

The ANC has noted Zondo’s findings, with the governing party indicating that it would review its deployment policy.

‘No-go area’

Mtolo has since slammed Zondo for entering the political arena.

“A judge can’t tell a ruling party in Parliament must make chairpersons of Portfolio Committees from other opposition parties. It’s a no-go area.

“A judge can’t tell a ruling party that it must change its policies. That is not the duty of a judge,” he told News24 at ANC’s policy conference held at Nasrec, Johannesburg on Saturday.

The ANC KZN secretary also criticised Zondo for “hailing” President Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as ANC’s leader.

“Where have you seen a judge in South Africa applaud the election of a politician to occupy [a position] in the public office?

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“Judge Zondo wrote it in black and white that the election of President Ramaphosa in the ANC conference saved South Africa. No judge has said that. I won’t have [minded] if he was applauding him to be a head of state, but a judge can’t applaud the election of a politician in his political party,” he said.

Mtolo further said Zondo – who concluded that Ramaphosa’s silence made him complicit in state capture – needed to be “educated about what state capture is”.

He also commented on ANC members who were implicated in Zondo’s report.

“Even in [ANC] top six, there are people who are no longer happy, who say no Zondo has gone overboard [and that] they are taking the report on review. They thought the State Capture Commission is going to only find bad things against Zuma,” he said.

Cadre deployment

On cadre deployment, Mtolo said: “No sober judge can recommend that a political party must review its own rules for what reason.”

He argued that he is “a beneficiary” of ANC’s deployment policy, but has never “done corruption”.

“In South Africa, the ANC is been punished for being transparent [because] all political parties [deploy their own members],” Mtolo said, adding that “We will never review cadre deployment, we will never do that.”

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in June filed its papers at the Pretoria High Court, asking for an order to declare cadre deployment unconstitutional and illegal.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa to oppose DA’s case against ANC’s cadre deployment policy

Last year, the DA also filed an application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to obtain the ANC’s deployment committee minutes.

Ramaphosa, in his capacity as President of South Africa, is opposing the party’s application.

The president previously defended the policy during his testimony at the commission in 2021, arguing it was an important part of implementing the ANC’s mandate.

He also revealed that the deployment committee did not keep records of its meetings from 2012 to 2017.