The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has dismissed the DA’s application to have the ANC policy of cadre deployment declared unconstitutional.
The application was dismissed with costs.
The ruling was handed down on Wednesday in court by Judge Aubrey Ledwaba.
Not unconstitutional
In his judgement, Ledwaba said: “It follows that there is nothing unconstitutional about a political party influencing policy direction of a government. Including the appointment of senior personnel to public service, so as long as the public service is protected against being misused for partisan purposes.”
Speaking outside the court after the judgement was handed down, DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party is disappointed in the judgement.
“At the outset, let me express our disappointment in the judgement. As a party that respects the rule of law and the constitution, we respect the judgement. We do believe that a number of errors in law and interpretation were [made] in this judgement. We maintain that the practice of cadre deployment is [unconstitutional]. It is a violation of provisions that say nobody should be discriminated [against] or advanced on the basis of their party affiliation. We believe the judgement has missed on this significantly,” said Steenhuisen.
DA to appeal judgement
Steenhuisen said the party will appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and at the Constitutional Court if needs be.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri welcomed the judgement. This through a media statement that the party released on Wednesday.
ANC welcomes ruling, feels vindicated
“The application brought by the DA was both legally unsound as well as hypocritical,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.
This judgement follows the ANC handing over its cadre deployment records to the DA on Monday. This was in line with a Constitutional Court order. The governing party had earlier lost its bid to appeal an earlier ruling mandating the release of these documents.
DA MP Leon Schreiber stated that the ANC met the court-imposed deadline, providing records dating back to January 1 2013.
The documents include minutes of the party’s meetings, e-mail correspondence, WhatsApp conversations, CVs, and other relevant documentation.
