Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to answer questions about his role in state capture as the leader of a party that has a formal policy of cadre deployment.

Lawyers for the party have submitted a long list of possible questions to the state capture commission, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, that they would like to see answered by Ramaphosa.

Steenhuisen said "the ANC's policy of cadre deployment is the root cause of state capture", as seen last week in testimony before the commission on the State Security Agency (SSA). Witnesses alleged that over R9 billion in taxpayers' money was siphoned off by the SSA to fund factional ANC activity, as well as an "ANC project" in the Western Cape.

"Unless the Zondo commission addresses this root cause, South Africa's problems will persist," Steenhuisen said.

Some of the questions to Ramaphosa on the DA's list related to Ramaphosa's chairing of the ANC's deployment committee, which started while he was deputy president, the purpose of such a committee, and also why the ANC had the "privilege of informing a selection process that they wanted one of their members appointed to a particular position in the public sector".

The party also wants to know whether Ramaphosa believed that "senior positions in the public service, the public administration, state-owned entities, municipalities and other government agencies should be staffed primarily by people who have proven themselves to be 'loyal' to the ANC".

Steenhuisen said: "As ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa needs to explain why his party is still pursuing its explicit project of state capture, through their formal policy of cadre deployment, which directs that state institutions are staffed by ANC loyalists, so as to gain party control of all levers of the state, including those meant to check and balance power. He needs to explain his role in state capture and why, as ANC president, he has made no move to end the practice of cadre deployment."

It is not clear whether the commission had received the list of questions as yet or when it will respond to the DA's lawyers.

Commission spokesperson Mbuyiselo Stemela didn't immediately react to a request for comment.