ANC acted too late on state capture, Ramaphosa tells Zondo Commission
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has conceded that the ANC cadre deployment strategy has been open to opportunism and factionalism, and admitted that the ANC acted too late on state capture.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the Zondo Commission on behalf of the ANC, where he faced questions on the party's cadre deployment strategy yesterday.
Cadre deployment has been criticised for hiring individuals in government positions who may lack the necessary qualifications, skills and experience to do the job.
Ramaphosa said it only became apparent that certain appointments were made with ulterior motives “some time” after the fact.
He admitted that the ANC's deployment committee was not made aware of certain appointments.
“Some of it was so masked that you did not see those agendas. It was a massive system failure. People were put in certain positions to advance certain agendas,” he said.
Ramaphosa, who chaired the party's deployment committee from 2013 to 2017, said the committee made recommendations on which individuals could be deployed to various government roles. He said sometimes the committee did not get what it wished for, as the final decision lay with the government.
He said the committee did not get involved in appointments in the judiciary or law enforcement. Rather, its focus was on certain government roles such as premier positions, director-general roles and MEC appointments.
The committee does not involve itself in Cabinet appointments – a process the president undertakes in consultation with the party.
The deployment committee was founded to help transform government appointments that were previously male- and white-dominated, when the new dispensation took over in 1994, Ramaphosa said.
He set out to explain that it was encouraged that deployment should remain within set requirements, in that when a government position arose, ANC members may be encouraged to apply.
He said this did not negate the necessary processes of appointment. Evidence leader advocate Paul Pretorius read out an excerpt from a commentary that criticised the ANC's deployment strategy as being marred by careerism and factionalism.
Ramaphosa conceded that this was true in certain circumstances and attributed it to the ANC being a “living” organisation that was affected by divisions.
“It is the truth that we have had to deal with these issues, careerism, opportunism and factionalism. And some of these deployments have caused a ruckus in the ANC because we are a living organisation.
“In the end, we have to manage all of that. Factionalism arises because members of the organisation would have different perspectives and interests,” Ramaphosa said.
Regarding former minister and ANC member Barbara Hogan's assertion that the ANC no longer needed a deployment system, Ramaphosa disagreed and said it was needed now more than ever.
He said “throwing the baby out with the bath water” was not a solution and that the committee could still make great contributions to the ANC. He said it should be recommending people who were fit, who knew their craft and who would not be captured.
In his opening statement, the ANC leader and SA president attempted to assure the inquiry that the movement did not support members who were involved in corruption and said they would not be protected by the party.
“Such members must face the full legal consequences of their actions. They cannot rely on the ANC for support or protection, nor may they appeal to the principle of collective responsibility,” he said.
The era of state capture would be “relegated to history”, he assured the commission.
“We acknowledge to the people of South Africa that we did not always live up to the values and principles that have defined the movement for over more than a century of its existence.
“We are determined and we undertake to work alongside all South Africans to ensure that the era of state capture is relegated to history, and that the excesses that took place may never again occur in our country,” Ramaphosa said.