Please find an attached soundbite by Dr Leon Schreiber MP.
The DA has officially tabled our End Cadre Deployment Bill with the Speaker’s Office in Parliament. The Bill will now be referred to the relevant portfolio committee for consideration and public consultation, whereafter Members of Parliament will have the historic opportunity to vote to replace cadre deployment with professional public service appointments.
The need for this Bill has never been more urgent in the wake of the evidence revealed at yesterday’s Zondo Commission sitting that the ANC’s cadre deployment committee has usurped the power to appoint state officials on the basis of loyalty to the party rather than on the basis of merit. New evidence obtained after the DA requested the Zondo Commission to subpoena minutes of ANC cadre deployment committee meetings revealed that cadre deployment continues unabated. And even after being confronted with evidence at the Zondo Commission that the deployment committee interfered with the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, President Cyril Ramaphosa steadfastly continued to defend and double down on this evil policy.
Since Ramaphosa refuses to put the interests of South Africa first by walking away from cadre deployment, Parliament must now do it for him. The End Cadre Deployment Bill will:
- Make it a criminal offence to appoint someone on the basis of political loyalty rather than demonstrated merit;
- Make it illegal for anyone holding office in a political party to work in a government department;
- Direct the Public Service Commission (PSC) to ensure that all appointments are based strictly on merit;
- Give the PSC the power to take remedial actions against corrupt officials; and
- Make the PSC wholly independent of the Department of Public Service and Administration.
The DA calls on all South Africans who want to see an end to corruption and the creation of a state that actually gets things done to express their support for the End Cadre Deployment Bill by sending an email to speaker@parliament.gov.za. We also encourage voters to watch closely to see which Members of Parliament support or oppose this Bill, as the result of the vote in Parliament will clearly reveal which parties are serious about reform, and which parties are determined to protect the corrupt status quo.