ANC loses ConCourt bid to keep cadre deployment records from the DA

CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) on Monday lost its Constitutional Court bid to avoid having to hand over its records related to cadre deployment to the Democratic Alliance (DA). 

The DA had successfully challenged the matter in the Gauteng High Court in 2023, for the ruling party to share its records dating back to January 2013 when President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the cadre deployment committee. 

In terms of Monday’s Constitutional Court judgment, the ANC now has five working days to submit the minutes of meetings, CVs, email threads, WhatsApp discussions and all other documents of the cadre deployment committee. 

STATE CAPTURE

It’s been a long-fought battle of the DA to get to the bottom of the ANC’s cadre deployment in attempts to prove that it’s been at the heart of corruption and maladministration in the public sector.

The ANC had approached the country’s top court to overturn earlier rulings of the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal to hand over its records to the opposition.

DA MP Leon Schreiber said he believed these records would show the party’s and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s complicity in state capture.

"It will help us complete the picture of how state capture took place, who was involved, and who should be held accountable."

The DA believes cadre deployment is the root cause of the collapse of state capacity, and the electricity and water crises.

"It enables the ANC to appoint people on the basis of loyalty to the party, rather than on the basis of merit and skill," Schreiber said.

In its judgment on Monday, the Constitutional Court said it was refusing the ANC leave to appeal because it was not in the interest of justice to hear the matter.