City defends DA's "cadre deployment" on Castle board

WHILE DA MPs continue to decry the “growing scandal of new ANC cadre deployments as Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) ‘administrators’”, the DA-led City of Cape Town has come out in defence of the appointment of Mayor Goerdin Hill-Lewis' chief of staff, James-Brent Styan to the Council's seat on the Castle Control Board instead of a councillor who is an elected official. 

The Castle Control Board governs and manages the Castle of Good Hope on behalf of the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. 

Before moving to Hill-Lewis’ office, Styan was Local Government and Environment Affairs MEC Anton Bredell’s spokesperson for a number of years. 

At the recent council meeting on Thursday, opposition parties slammed the DA for what they described as double-standards. 

GOOD councillor Roscoe Palm accused Hill-Lewis and the DA of cadre deployment in light of Styan’s appointment to the position.

“By rights, a City of Cape Town councillor should be appointed to this position on the Castle Control Board. When viewed through the lens of cadre deployment, it all begins to make sense. Just as the Mayor deployed his loyal cadre Gareth van Onselen as Council’s representative to UCT in 2021, here we see another insider appointment. Here we see the deployment of someone who loyally worked for MEC Bredell, and now the Mayor. The mayor gives appointments to his loyal circle of trust. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” said Palm. 

The DA in the province referred questions to the mayor.

Mayoral spokesperson Lyndon Khan said the position was unpaid, so it was not cadre deployment. 

“They clearly haven’t a clue what the term 'cadre deployment' means. No Capetonian is happy with the very poor way in which the Castle has been managed in previous years. It’s time for some fresh energy there to help the Castle achieve its huge potential,” said Khan. 

However Palm maintained that cadre deployment was not about whether a person is paid or unpaid. 

“It is about the abuse of public appointments to reward political allies. The Mayor misses the point. Paid or unpaid, it is a City Council appointment to represent the people of Cape Town on the Castle Control Board. Styan was not appointed because of any particular knowledge of heritage, history, or tourism. He was appointed because he is the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, and formerly worked for MEC Anton Bredell. He is a loyal DA cadre. That is the definition of cadre deployment - appointing insiders and loyalists to public positions, not on merit or expertise, but on party allegiance. 

“When Geordin Hill-Lewis deploys one of his cronies to a heritage site of significant indigenous value, this heritage is soon imperilled, as with the Amazon development. If the Mayor truly wanted to bring 'fresh energy' to the Castle, the City could have drawn on the vast pool of expertise that exists in our universities, heritage and cultural institutions, and civil society. Instead, the Mayor chose a political proxy whose first loyalty is to him and his party, not to the people of Cape Town,” Palm said. 

National Coloured Congress (NCC) councillor, Anastatia Davids said the DA has once again shown its hypocrisy. 

“While it condemns the ANC for cadre deployment, it quietly does the same by appointing loyal insiders instead of elected councillors. This proves the DA does not trust its own councillors and is driven more by loyalty than by merit.”

The ANC in council noted they supported the motion but would monitor the situation closely. 

ANC caucus spokesperson Judy-Ann Stevens said: “While we supported this item in Council, we must place on record our concern about the ongoing practice of cadre deployment by the DA. Mr Styan previously worked closely with MEC Bredell, and his appointment again raises questions about whether merit and transparency are being undermined by political connections. As the ANC we will continue to monitor the functioning of the Board to ensure that the Castle of Good Hope, a site of deep historical significance, is managed in the interest of all South Africans and not reduced to a playground for DA patronage.” 

Styan did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. 

Cape Times