The Citizen (Gauteng)

Ramaphosa ‘liable for cadre deployment’

- Siyanda Ndlovu

President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot hide behind a public good-guy persona while continuing to cripple the state behind closed doors, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuise­n said during the party’s “True State of the Nation Address” yesterday.

Steenhuise­n said cadre deployment was the reflection of state capture by the ANC.

He said the party was on a project intended to subvert the democratic principle of the separation of party and state.

“It has been allowed to continue, unabated, for the past 23 years, resulting in virtually every problem we face today,” said Steenhuise­n.

“Cadre deployment has entrenched a culture of impunity, as those who fail at their jobs or who are caught stealing from the public are simply redeployed elsewhere.

“And because ANC loyalists have been parachuted into the top of the NPA [National Prosecutin­g Authority], Saps [SA Police Service], the Hawks and Sars [SA Revenue Service], every single check and balance on the abuse of power has been weakened.”

“The ineffectiv­e are rewarding themselves, the incompeten­t are assessing themselves and the corrupt are policing themselves.”

He said while the army of wellpaid deployed cadres grew, the state had ceased to function.

Steenhuise­n also said dysfunctio­nal parastatal­s, healthcare and education systems were the result of capture through cadre deployment.

He said that no one in the ANC had been more central to the deployment of party loyalists to positions in the state over the past decade than Ramaphosa.

“He headed up the ANC’s cadre deployment committee from 2014 to 2018, when he took over the presidency from Jacob Zuma.

“During this time some of the very worst appointmen­ts were made to our [state-owned enterprise­s] and public service and corruption skyrockete­d.”

He added that it was imperative that Ramaphosa answered the questions the DA had sent to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

Because ANC loyalists have been parachuted into the top of the NPA, Saps, the Hawks and Sars, every single check and balance on the abuse of power has been weakened.

John Steenhusie­n DA leader

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