DA says ‘vindicated’ by SCA’s ANC cadre deployment ruling

The ANC has lost its bid to prevent the DA from accessing the party’s deployment committee records.

On Monday, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed the ANC’s application to appeal a high court judgment ordering the governing party to release its deployment committee records to the DA.

 The ANC approached the SCA in June to overturn the Johannesburg High Court.

 “Having considered the Notice of Motion and the other documents filed, it is ordered that…The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs on the grounds that there are no reasonable prospects of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard,” the court ruled.

 The DA’s Leon Schreiber says the ruling has vindicated the DA’s long-held position that it is illegal for the ANC to hide the way it makes appointments to the public administration.

 "Secrecy has been instrumental in the ANC’s practice of cadre deployment corruption because it makes it impossible for the South African people to see how appointment processes are corrupted. But thanks to the DA, the secrecy that helps sustain ANC cadre deployment corruption is about to end.

"Today’s ruling means that the ANC has five working days to hand over all of the records requested by the DA, including meeting minutes, CVs, email correspondence and WhatsApp conversations of the cadre deployment committee dating back to 1 January 2013, when President Cyril Ramaphosa became cadre deployment chairman in Jacob Zuma’s administration."

The DA says it awaits the second application in the High Court in Pretoria, where they want the court to declare ANC cadre deployment unconstitutional and unlawful.

The ANC has yet to indicate whether it would accept the ruling or possibly approach the Constitutional Court.

ALSO READ: