By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed an application by the African National Congress (ANC) to appeal an earlier High Court judgment ordering it to release its cadre deployment records to the Democratic Alliance.
The DA had used the Promotion of Access to Information Act in its long-running battle to gain access to the governing party’s records.
SCA Judge Wendy Hughes and Acting Judge Glenn Goosen found the ANC’s attempt to appeal the Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) ruling delivered by Gauteng High Court Judge Willem Wepener had “no reasonable prospects of success” and dismissed it with costs.
The judges also concluded there was “no other compelling reason while an appeal should be heard in the case” and roundly rejected ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s argument the ANC’s “constitutional rights to privacy, equality, and dignity have been infringed” by Wepener’s decision.
Mbalula had also slammed Wepener for dismissing the ANC’s application to appeal his ruling with costs, on the basis the party had no chance of succeeding in its appeal.
The SCA has effectively confirmed the correctness of the judge’s assessment.
MP, Dr Leon Schreiber, said the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the ANC to hand over complete records of its national cadre deployment committee to them within five days.
He said the judges said there would be no reasonable prospects of success and “no compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.”
Schreiber said the Appeals Court ruling vindicates their long-held view that it is illegal for the ANC to hide the way in which it interferes in appointments to government departments, municipalities, and state-owned enterprises.
“Today’s ruling means that the ANC has five working days to hand over all of the records requested by the DA, including meeting minutes, CVs, email correspondence, and Whatsapp conversations of the cadre deployment committee dating back to 1 January 2013, when President Cyril Ramaphosa became cadre deployment chairman in Jacob Zuma’s administration.”
“The DA is currently also awaiting a ruling in our second court application, where we have asked the Pretoria High Court to declare ANC cadre deployment unconstitutional and unlawful,” Schreiber said.