Statement by George Michalakis MP – DA Parliamentary Leader:
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday officially handed over a series of ministerial replies to written questions implicating several senior officials in contravening section 195(1) of the Constitution, read with their Code of Conduct, to the Public Service Commission headquarters in Pretoria.
Senior officials of state departments are constitutionally and ethically bound to remain impartial and professional.
This, according to the replies to DA parliamentary questions received, is not the case and implicated officials are alleged to have met with ANC study groups in Parliament before portfolio committee meetings, where the ANC members are provided with information and officials take part in the political discussion.
This is a direct consequence of ANC cadre deployment that, on the basis of the replies, has been going on since the dawn of democracy.
The Public Service Commission will now do a full investigation into these incidents, and the DA will continue to supply the Commission with responses from Ministers where they are still outstanding.
The DA has further requested the Commission to intervene to put a stop to this practice pending the investigation.
The DA has been at the forefront of the fight against cadre deployment, which is the root cause of hollowing out the public service where civil servants serve the ANC rather than the public.
The DA will also refer the case to the Portfolio Committee Chairperson on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers, for monitoring.
