African National Congress (ANC) Ministers have defended cadre deployment and said it was necessary for any ruling party to deploy qualified people to implement its policies and programmes.
Minister of Public Service and Administration Noxolo Kiviet said the Democratic Alliance (DA) even lost its case in the Pretoria High Court where the court found that cadre development was not unlawful and unconstitutional.
She said the DA has appealed this case.
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa said cadre deployment was necessary for any party that is in charge to ensure it sends qualified people to run government. This was about transformation in the country.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng said in their department they have qualified people in key positions.
Kiviet said the DA lost its case in the High Court over cadre deployment and appealed it. She said the party cannot come to Parliament and reopen the debate.
This was after DA MP Leon Schreiber asked her about cadre deployment.
Ministers in the Governance Cluster were on Wednesday answering questions in Parliament.
Kiviet said the DA lost the cadre deployment case in court.
“The DA has chosen to take the matter, which it lost in court, on appeal. They can’t come and want to reopen that court discussion here. Here we are debating the professionalisation report from the Public Service Commission. It is what we are acting on as the ANC-led government.
“I will repeat and indicate that cadre deployment of the ANC, the court has ruled that there is nothing unconstitutional about it,” said Kiviet.
Ramokgopa said the ANC was using cadre deployment to ensure it sends people who are qualified to take up key positions.
She said any party that wins elections will deploy its own people.
“I am saying this precisely because when you do cadre development, you take people who are qualified to ensure that what it is that you have said in your manifesto does take place. That is what cadre development is about, I think that there is a misconception about that,” said Ramokgopa.
She said the DA can learn more about cadre deployment. She said this policy was about transformation in the country.
Kiviet said South Africa was not the only country that practised it, even major democracies practise it.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics