The ANC’s deployment committee, led by Deputy President David Mabuza and party deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, has tightened the rules on compliance with the deployment process, according to City Press.
It suggests Mabuza has hinted during Cabinet sessions that he ‘was never consulted’, meaning that the deployment committee was not consulted before particular names were brought before Cabinet for ratification.
The article quotes a source as saying: ‘It’s a Cabinet meeting, so you can’t mention the deployment committee there.’
Mabuza apparently also raised the issue during a national executive committee (NEC) meeting, saying he was ‘very firm on this thing’.
‘His stance is that no one can just take something to Cabinet if it hasn’t gone through the normal party processes,’ said a Mabuza supporter.
The committee apparently wants to see the proven capacity of candidates and their qualifications. ‘This is a good thing because people must be fit for purpose,’ said another source.
This change in approach was necessitated by the ANC’s frequent embarrassment when less-qualified or less-competent people had been appointed to key posts, usually due to factional interests influencing internal party processes.
The issue was raised in the context of the appointment of the director-general of public enterprises, Kgathatso Tlhakudi.
There were two explanations for the length of time it took to approve the appointment. The first was that Mabuza had blocked the appointment pending Pravin Gordhan’s following the proper process of consultation with the deployment committee. The second was that Gordhan had actually complied with briefing the deployment committee, but had not had an opportunity to sit down with them and process the appointment.
The report said President Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that the correct processes be followed to the letter. This meant that the appointment had not been finalised because Gordhan had not had a chance to present the proposed appointment to the deployment committee.