- The ANC doesn't have a cadre deployment policy, says party chairperson Gwede Mantashe.
- He told the Zondo commission the ANC's deployment committee only recommends which cadres to employ.
- Earlier, the commission heard that President Cyril Ramaphosa would not appear before it next week as initially planned, but at a later date.
The ANC "unashamedly" wants to deepen control over the levers of state, ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe testified at the Zondo commission on Wednesday.
However, he denied that this created tension with the principle that the public service should be non-partisan.
Most of the morning session had been evidence leader Alec Freund SC and Mantashe grappling with the ANC's cadre deployment policy.
Freund asked Mantashe if it was correct that the ANC wanted to deepen its hold on the levers of the state.
"Unashamedly, the ANC wants to govern," answered Mantashe. "And therefore, you can't govern without the state. The state must be ready to execute the programmes of government."
He said this included State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
"These are tools in the hands of the governing party to execute."
Freund asked if he accepted that the public service was supposed to be non-partisan.
ROLLING COVERAGE | ANC deployment committee 'doesn't appoint, it recommends', Mantashe tells #StateCaptureInquiry
Mantashe said he did, and Freund asked if he sees any tension between a non-partisan public service and the governing party wanting control of all levers of the state. He said:
On two occasions, Mantashe said the ANC doesn't have a "cadre deployment policy" but a "deployment policy".
"It makes a huge difference," Mantashe said.
Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo pointed out that in his own affidavit, Mantashe referred to the "deployment of ANC cadres".
Mantashe said there was a "narrow interpretation" associated with the term "cadre deployment", meaning that the ANC didn't look at a candidate's competence, but at whether that person was a cadre.
He said this was not the case in the ANC.
"We're not looking for cadres. We're looking for competence."
He said the ANC's deployment committee only made recommendations on who should be appointed. It was the government structures that employed people.
According to Mantashe, the ANC trained cadres so that they could fulfil functions in the state.
Mantashe also told the commission the ANC encouraged its MPs to apply their minds and not adopt a herd mentality.
Vote
Just last month, Mantashe sternly instructed ANC MPs that they had to vote in favour of the impeachment of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
He also claimed that removing a president was a "party organisational matter" and "which should best be dealt with within the party".
In fact, the Constitution empowered the National Assembly - in effect, all the parties represented there - to elect the president and remove the president.
Earlier in the session, Zondo said President Cyril Ramaphosa would not appear before the commission on 22 and 23 April "because of some commitments that have arisen".
He would, instead, attend on 28 and 29 April as ANC leader, and on 13 and 14 May as president of the country.
Zondo also postponed former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser's application to compel the SSA to provide him with documents, as the SSA indicated that it would provide him with information.
Mantashe's testimony was set to continue throughout Wednesday afternoon.