Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
04 September 2024 | 12:10 p.m. SAST
2-minute read

Image: Central News

• In his book The Super Cadres: ANC Misrule in the Age of Deployment, Pieter Du Toit outlines the economic decline of the country under the Zuma administration.
• In an interview on Radio Islam, Du Toit said cadre deployment was conceptualised under Mandela, formalised by the ANC in 1997, implemented by Mbeki and exploited to the hilt by the ANC of Zuma and Ramaphosa.
• “Steenhuisen’s appointment of a highly divisive Twitter character in Roman Cabanac is enormously problematic,” Du Toit said.
• Poor policy decisions and placing people in positions that they are not qualified for have led to the country’s current challenges, including a 34% unemployment rate, extremely high levels of poverty, an enormous budget deficit and a high debt-to-GDP ratio.
• Du Toit does not foresee the end of cadre deployment and emphasises that its aim was to introduce absolute and total control of the state, which is problematic for a country as diverse as SA.

Du Toit, on his reason for writing the book, explains that this year, which marks 3 decades of South Africa’s democracy, is a good moment for political reflection.

Another contributing factor was the continuation of corruption under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership, which further damaged the country, Du Toit says.

The root cause of South Africa’s woes, Du Toit argues, is cadre deployment which was initiated while Nelson Mandela was president.

While interviews with former Ministers of Finance Pravin Gordhan and Trevor Manuel informed the book, it is largely based on Du Toit’s experience as an investigative and political journalist.

Du Toit references Manuel’s reflections on the early years of democracy and the necessity of restructuring the public service. However, Manuel, like Gordhan, became critical of the trajectory that cadre deployment took in later years.

“Gordhan and senior officials at treasury really were the last bastions of defense ahead of the Gupta-Zuma machinery, taking final control of the national fiscus,” Du Toit said.

Du Toit acknowledged that Zuma and his networks were adept at covering their tracks, making it challenging to directly link Zuma to corruption despite the widespread impact visible in the collapse of state-owned enterprises and the justice system.

The book explores Ramaphosa’s role in cadre deployment. As the chair of the ANC’s deployment committee from 2012 to 2017, and later as president, Ramaphosa’s involvement in controversial appointments and the failure to prevent the repurposing of key state institutions is scrutinised. The author argues that Ramaphosa’s defence of cadre deployment at the Zondo commission exemplifies the ongoing challenges the country faces.

When asked about the possibility of cadre deployment being completely eradicated, Du Toit said that it is unlikely that cadre deployment will end, noting that the policy is deeply ingrained in the ANC’s strategy for maintaining control over the state and society.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.