Cadre deployment or serve one term – ANC tells BNF
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday July 14, 2025 10:01
The cadre policy and deployment strategy were adopted by the ANC when South Africa attained democracy in 1994 and they focused on the ruling party having loyal party hands in strategic positions at various levels of government.
Locally, as Botswana National Front (BNF) diehards push for the deployment of their members in key roles, party leader Boko has made it clear that he shuns cadre deployment because he has seen it destroy governments.
The renewed interest in the matter comes in the wake of a recent political education training facilitated by ANC officials.
During the training, ANC Women’s League leader, Bathabile Dlamini said there is no way the UDC can ignore cadre deployment unless the party wants to serve for only one term.
She said if members are not taken care of, it will breed disgruntlement. Dlamini added that dissatisfied members can eventually destroy the party internally and even help vote the party out.
“The danger of putting people who are not party members in key positions is that they will leak information to the public. They do not have the interest of the party at heart. Diaries of Cabinet Ministers should be known at the party office, and if party activity comes first, it should be given priority. People are there because of the party,' Dlamini emphasised.
“Ministers and MPs must give the party priority. Their schedules should be known by the party office that voted them into power, and they should pay their subscription fees,” she added.
Dlamini also raised concerns during the sessions about the widening gap between Members of Parliament (MPs) and the broader party membership.
She emphasised the need for better coordination, urging MPs, Ministers, and Councillors to remain closely connected to party structures. She further emphasised the importance of party unity and institutional stability.
According to the ANC top official, the party should not confuse the responsibilities of governance with the pursuit of political power.
To succeed, she said, the party must build solid, well-functioning internal structures that support both leadership and grassroots engagement.
Since the UDC, a coalition of which the BNF is an affiliate, took over government last year, members feel it is their time to eat.
However, there is disappointment in the air because Boko has emphasised that he won't make appointments solely based on party affiliations.
Speaking at a Kgotla meeting last week, the President said some party members have approached him seeking favours, but he will not entertain calls for cadre deployment.
Boko added said he was shocked that the same people who criticised the previous regime for cadre deployment are the same ones pushing for its implementation.
The UDC leader said he wants to run on merit and competence, rather than political affiliation, emphasising that he won't fire people recklessly just to make way for party members.
As party members feel they should be appointed to key public positions, this rising discontent comes at a critical moment for the BNF and the UDC by extension.
The expectation was that even non-political employees who serve in senior positions should have been sent home right away to allow the new administration to review staffing as it aligns with the UDC’s priorities. They believed that top positions should be staffed with BNF and UDC members who support Boko’s goals.
The ANC is historically said to have used cadre deployment to appoint its members to key public positions, and for members who move from one position to another.
According to South African media, in the past, the strategy used to be an honour for members to say that they were deployed as a cadre. That is because it suggested they are disciplined, obey the ANC’s instructions and are not motivated by personal interests.
During apartheid, black South Africans were excluded from meaningful political participation in the government and the use of racial classifications and segregation meant they were never given public positions.
Reportedly, cadre deployment played a crucial role in promoting transformation and representation in public institutions.
By placing ANC cadres in key public positions, there was a push for diversity, inclusion and representation of previously marginalised groups, black South Africans, women and youth in decision-making roles such as the executive, the judiciary and state-owned enterprises.
Cadre deployment is also said to have helped advance the ANC’s agenda and policies, especially in areas such as economic transformation, social justice and empowerment of previously disadvantaged people.
It reportedly facilitated the implementation of ANC policies and programmes across government departments, agencies and institutions. This allegedly ensured coherence and consistency in policy implementation, avoiding conflicts or diverging agendas that could hinder progress.
In the BNF’s case, the members don’t have an apartheid like experience but they feel that they sacrificed, struggled, and even faced years of political marginalisation under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).
Many of them could not find employment during the BDP’s reign, even though they held the necessary qualifications. They had hoped that the change brought by the UDC would turn their fortunes around, but now they are facing the same disappointments under a government they helped bring to power.