News24 reports that in what could be a landmark court case, the Democratic Alliance (DA) will face off against the ANC in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Monday, where the DA will be asking the court to declare the governing party's policy of cadre deployment illegal and unconstitutional.
What makes this case unusual is that it is an opposition party asking the court to declare the governing party's policy illegal and unconstitutional – a fact that has not gone unnoticed by the ANC, who used it as one of its defences against the DA. The case is also being heard against the backdrop of the ongoing energy crisis, with the DA claiming cadre deployment is one of the root causes for state-owned electricity provider Eskom's struggle to keep the lights on. ANC chairperson and Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe, who railed against the Zondo Commission's finding that cadre deployment was illegal and unconstitutional, earlier this month told the Mail & Guardian that the ANC would involve itself in the appointment of outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter's replacement. In his report on state capture, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo came to the conclusion that cadre deployment played a significant part in enabling state capture. The DA's argument to the court relies on a strikingly similar legal basis as Zondo. Both Zondo and the DA referred to Section 197(3) of the Constitution, which states: "No employee of the public service may be favoured or prejudiced only because that person supports a particular political party or cause." In direct contradiction of the Zondo Commission, President Cyril Ramaphosa has argued that cadre deployment is not unconstitutional. According to Ramaphosa, the "very purpose" of cadre deployment is to ensure the public service is aligned to the "constitutional objective of transformation".
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Gerber at News24 (subscriber access only)
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