There is a link between the ANC's cadre deployment committee and state capture. That is the indisputable finding of the final part of the State Capture Inquiry report.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo laid out, in black and white, that the ANC cadre deployment policy violated five different subsections of the Constitution and contravened the Public Service Act.
This is the most definitive finding of ANC complicity in state capture.
During its unrecorded meetings, the deployment committee deployed people, like Brian Molefe and Matshela Koko, to state-owned enterprises, who were then complicit in the wholesale capture of the state for the benefit of former president Jacob Zuma and the Guptas.
Luthuli House cannot deny it anymore - and the defence by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chaired the deployment committee during the state capture period, holds no water.
Zondo stated it very clear: "…the Constitution envisages a public administration that maintains a high standard of professional ethics: that is efficient, economical and effective in its use of resources, and that is impartial, fair, equitable and without bias."
But when you look at the ANC's deployment policy, it was the antithesis of these four values.
Zondo found that this committee was more powerful than Ramaphosa and the ANC wanted us to believe, and it played a central role in the destruction of state institutions and the looting of state funds.
He insists that it is, thus, illegal and unlawful.
What do the Zondo findings mean? What happens now? And can the ANC exist without this patronage system?
In this week's Friday Briefing, we have thoughtful and powerful pieces from Trevor Manuel, Professor William Gumede, Terence Corrigan, Khaya Sithole and Wayne Duvenage.
We also have a cartoon by News24's cartoonist, Carlos Amato, as part of our offering.
Best,
Qaanitah Hunter
Assistant Editor: Politics and Opinion
Trevor Manuel | The ANC’s deployment committee - end it now!
We must require the immediate dissolution of the Deployment Committee as part of the return to Constitutionality, writes former finance minister Trevor Manuel.
Unless stopped now, the ANC deployment policy will be responsible for the total collapse of the state, economy, and social breakdown, writes Professor William Gumede.
Terence Corrigan | Cadre deployment: A seminal moment for us all
The stated intention of cadre deployment was the expansion of party control over institutions whose non-partisanship was explicitly guaranteed in the Constitution, writes the IRR's Terence Corrigan.
Khaya Sithole | Why Zondo's recommendations on cadre deployment are moot
Gwede Mantashe's response to Chief Justice Zondo's recommendations on cadre deployment raises crucial points for all of us. Notably, on the process' legitimacy. But leading up to 2024, Zondo's recommendations may just be moot in any case, given that the party's deployment track record to date has been so disastrous, writes Khaya Sithole.
Wayne Duvenage | The culture of cadre deployment inflicts deep-rooted economic damage on the state
The entrenchment of a cadre deployment policy by the ANC is a blatant scheme that ensures the appointment of governing party loyalists into positions of power and decision-making within the various institutions of government, so as to circumvent reporting lines and thereby bring the institution under the control of the political party, as opposed to the state, writes Wayne Duvenage.
To receive the Friday Briefing, sign up for the newsletter here.
*Want to share your views on this week's Friday Briefing? Send your letter or article to opinions@news24.comwith your name and town or province. You are welcome to also send a profile picture. We encourage a diversity of voices and views in our readers' submissions and reserve the right not to publish any and all submissions received.