DA spokesperson for public service and administration Leon Schreiber said his party formally filed urgent contempt of court proceedings against ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula over his failure to comply with an order confirmed by the Constitutional Court. Picture: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
The DA has filed urgent contempt of court proceedings against the ANC for allegedly failing to provide records of the governing party’s deployment committee.
The application launched on Monday at the Gauteng High Court Division, comes almost 10 days after the official opposition threatened to launch a contempt application when it alleged the ANC had failed to include President Cyril Ramaphosa’s own emails and WhatsApp messages in the records it handed over to the DA when Ramaphosa was chairperson of the committee between 2013 and 2018.
On Thursday, DA spokesperson for public service and administration Leon Schreiber said his party formally filed urgent contempt of court proceedings against ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula over his failure to comply with an order confirmed by the Constitutional Court to hand over complete records related to the ANC’s national cadre deployment committee dating back to January 1, 2013, when Ramaphosa became committee chairperson.
In its notice of motion, Mbalula, the ANC and Thapelo Masilela are cited as respondents.
The court papers said the DA intended to make an application on March 19 or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard.
The DA wants the court to declare the ANC in contempt of the court order handed down by the Constitutional Court on February 2.
“The respondents are directed, within five days of this order, to give effect to the court order by providing to the applicant all the information that has already been disclosed and which is further required to be disclosed in terms of the court order in unredacted form so as to ensure all names of persons are legible,” read the motion of notice.
It also said the ANC should provide minutes, draft minutes, notes, attendance registers, communication and decision of the committee whether prepared by or communicated to staff members of the first respondent, members of the committee, chairperson of the committee and government officials.
This also extends to emails, WhatsApp and other social media communication between and among members of the committee and other government officials. The motion states that all such information should be for the periods January 2013 to May 2018, May 21, 2018, August 6, 2018, March 22 to August 19, 2019, and November 12, 2019.
In its notice of motion, the DA wants to be provided with legible copies of the information required to be disclosed.
According to the papers, the ANC had until March 6 to file a notice of opposition.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri could not be reached for comment.
Cape Times