Pretoria - The DA and AfriForum yesterday asked the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria to declare the ANC deployment committee illegal and unconstitutional, saying it ‘belongs in apartheid era’.
The parties argued that the ANC used its deployment committee to appoint only its members in senior positions in the government, judiciary, media and other levers of state.
Advocate Anton Katz SC, for the DA, told the full Bench of the high court that the deployment committee consisted of 15 members, drawn primarily from the national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC.
“It is chaired by the deputy president of the ANC.
“The secretary of the deployment committee monitors the media and government bulletins for advertised vacancies in the public service.
“Cabinet ministers are also required to inform the deployment committee of vacancies before the vacancies are advertised publicly,” Katz said.
He said the ANC’s deployment committee took an interest in those vacancies it considered to be strategic and that advanced the development agenda of the state.
“A pool of ‘suitably qualified candidates’ for deployment is maintained by the ANC’s committee.
“The deployment committee will encourage suitably qualified candidates to apply for vacancies.
“Where appointments are made by ministers, the committee will comment on a shortlist of candidates presented to the committee by the relevant minister.
“The committee will then make a ‘recommendation’ to the minister.
“The process for appointment is executed by the relevant government entity or department, which conducts interviews and makes a final determination of the candidate suitable for appointment.
“The ANC, it is contended, is not involved in this process,” Katz said.
He said if the minister, or relevant official making an appointment, ignored the “recommendation” of the deployment committee, that would be regarded as ill-discipline… ”
The party argued that the ANC was allegedly dictating to ministers to appoint people of their choice in key government and agency positions.
In its defence, the ANC legal counsel, advocate Les Morison, argued that section 16 of the Constitution grants the ANC and other political parties freedom of speech, which include freedom of association.
Morison said the DA’s application to declare the party’s deployment committee illegal and unconstitutional was a plot to delimit the rights of the ANC, including the DA’s itself.
He also took a swipe at DA leader John Steenhuisen’s affidavit, accusing Ramaphosa and Gwede Mantashe, the minerals and energy minister, of having lied about the operations of the deployment committee before the Zondo Commission.
Pretoria News