Undoing demonisation of cadre deployment
SINCE 1994, the post-apartheid ANCled government has embarked on transformative measures that seek to address the injustices of the past.
Among others, the governing party introduced Broad-based black economic empowerment (BB-BEE) and race-based affirmative action policies. To deepen the implementation of the policies, the ANC adopted the cadre deployment strategy deploying its cadres to strategic governance positions, including Cabinet portfolios.
A political party uses cadre deployment to achieve its policies and party objectives by deploying members who share the same ideologies and values of the party. In this regard, the ANC has deployed its cadres to senior public administration positions to execute its programmes and initiatives.
However, the policy has been scrutinised for being ineffective and providing fertile ground for poor service delivery, corruption and nepotism.
Significantly, the ANC has been dubbed the number one suspect at the Zondo Commission which sought to investigate the allegations of fraud, corruption and state capture that took place during Zuma’s administration.
The development saw opposition parties, such as the DA and Freedom Front Plus being critical of the policy. They labelled the policy an enabler of corruption. In recent times, the DA has taken the ANC to court, seeking to have the policy declared unconstitutional. The DA says the ANC replaces merit-based deployment with an appointment that is informed by party affiliation and loyalty.
A glance at the DA critics demonstrates that the party’s interpretation of the policy is narrow.
It is for this reason that the party has embarked on a campaign to demonise the policy.
With this in mind, I argue that the analysis of the policy should be premised on the ideological outlook and policies of the ANC as the governing party.
While meritocracy is needed for good governance, the ideological outlook of prospective candidates is equally significant.
Someone who holds a different ideology to the incumbent government would undercut the programmes and initiatives guided by ruling party’s ideology and policies. Thus narrowing the recruitment criteria to meritocracy could open the door to those who would sabotage the party’s intentions and wishes.
Notably, the cadre deployment strategy has been successful in countries such as China.
The Chinese cadre deployment is premised on talent, meritocracy and values virtue. Through the rules for the selection and appointment of leading party and government cadres of 2014, the Communist Party of China (CCP) asserts its authority on the appointment of individuals.
Young, vibrant people are recommended to join the administration and the irrational ones are excluded. The strategy enables young people to grow within the system and move from local to provincial and then national governments, based on experience and capabilities. While it is open to all who seek to be part of the state administrative system, prospective individuals should join at a young age, be trained and grow based on competence. Arguably, the practice aligns cadres with the ideology of the CCP and the implementation of its objectives.
The Chinese meritocratic-based cadre deployment is driven by the technocratic character of its political structure and governance. In China, prospective candidates should meet a certain threshold of competency, including the ability to grasp technical and economic indicators for development. Hence, many Chinese leaders are qualified engineers or possess experience of working in state-owned technical enterprises.
In the case of the ANC, the policy is undercut by factional politics which takes precedence over meritocracy. The policy is also undermined by corruption and nepotism. The candidates appointed to public administration positions are often underqualified.
A case in point is a large number of Cabinet ministers who occupy ministerial portfolios and who do not have an educational qualification in such fields. This suggests that ministers cannot generate policies or implement them effectively to improve governance in their portfolios.
It is indisputable that the ANC has a huge reserve pool of people who can be employed to advance its programmes and initiatives. Apart from its alliance partners (the SACP, SA National Civic Organisation and Cosatu), the ANC can recruit candidates from the Progressive Youth Alliance (the ANC Youth League, SA Student Congress and Young Communist League of SA).
In keeping with its commitment to professionalise the public service sector, the ANC should draw young, talented and competent people to serve in public representative positions.
Importantly, the selection should be based on technocratic meritocracy to create a competitive bureaucratic system. If implemented, the posture would improve governance and enable South Africa to have good negotiators in foreign affairs as many of the ministerial portfolios would be occupied by people with skills in those areas.
Chinese cadre deployment focuses on the selection of talented and skilled individuals through an open and competitive process.
Thus, the ANC should reduce the demonisation of the policy by employing candidates based on merit.
◆ The views expressed here are the author’s and should not be attributed to the university.