DA failed to prove public service not insulated from political interference: Ramaphosa's legal team
The DA on Wednesday approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in an application for leave to appeal a judgment in which the court dismissed its application to declare the ANC’s cadre deployment policy unconstitutional and invalid.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the State of the Nation address at the Cape Town City Hall on 6 February 2025. Picture: Rodger Bosch/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal team has argued the Democratic Alliance (DA) has failed to present evidence showing that the Public Service Act fails to insulate the public service from political interference.
The DA on Wednesday approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in an application for leave to appeal a judgment in which the court dismissed its application to declare the African National Congress (ANC)’s cadre deployment policy unconstitutional and invalid.
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The party alternatively sought a declaration of constitutional invalidity of the public service.
However, the president opposed the application as one of six respondents in the matter.
When launching an application for a declaration of constitutional invalidity, an applicant must identify a right that is being violated and how the impugned policy has infringed that right.
Section 172, Subsection 1a of the Constitution stipulates that when deciding a constitutional matter within its power, a court must declare any law or conduct that is inconsistent with the Constitution invalid to the extent of its invalidity.
However, the president, through his legal counsel, argues that the DA has failed to do this.
Instead, Advocate Nomonde Nyembe submits that the DA only alleges the act fails to sufficiently insulate the public service from political interference but Nyembe posits the fact that there may be a policy that encourages the promotion of people who embody particular values does not render the statute unconstitutional.
Therefore, there are no reasonable prospects of success that warrant that the application for leave to appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeal be granted.