The Democratic Alliance (DA) and African National Congress's (ANC's) court battle with regard to cadre deployment spilt over into the debate on President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SoNA).

On Tuesday, the first day of the debate, DA MP Leon Schreiber said Ramaphosa "entirely avoided the most important cause of the collapse of the South African state, namely the corrupt ANC cadre deployment committee that he led during the height of the Zuma administration".

"By giving the ANC unconstitutional powers to interfere in appointment processes, this system leads directly to the appointment of incompetent and corrupt individuals in government departments and state-owned enterprises," said Schreiber, who has been leading the DA's charge to abolish the policy.

"Behind the collapse of every public service – from load shedding to policing to railways – you will find an ANC cadre who should never have been appointed in the first place.

"Don't you get it, Mr President? Not one person in this country believes that you are serious about fighting corruption when you never miss a chance to defend the cause of corruption: ANC cadre deployment."

Schreiber referred to the Zondo Commission's finding that cadre deployment was unlawful and unconstitutional.

"In fact, the hypocrisy of the president lauding the work of Judge Zondo, while knowing full-well that his government has not – and does not intend to – implement the findings of the State Capture Report, is shameful," he said.

ANC speakers turned the DA's criticism against itself, pointing to contentious appointments where their party governs.

ANC MP Nobulumko Nkondlo asked following question of the DA: "If it is standing here and requesting the ANC that it must declare its cadre deployment, at what point is the DA going to respond to the leader of the opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Cameron Dugmore, who on the 5th of July last year actually asked for the total proof of the DA's cadre deployment in the Western Cape? And this is what we are still sitting and waiting for."

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said the DA shouldn't throw stones when it lived in a glass house.

"The mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, was a staffer in Helen Zille's office," he said. 

In fact, Hill-Lewis was Zille's chief of staff, a political appointment, and a role he also fulfilled for her successor, Mmusi Maimane.

"Many capable professionals we can mention have suffered at the hands of the DA cadre deployment," said Nxesi, who is also the acting public service and administration minister.

Later, in his speech to the new framework for the professionalisation of the public service, he did not mention that this framework ditched cadre deployment.

He said the Zondo Commission "laid bare some of the criminality in the public service", but didn't refer to the commission's finding against cadre deployment.

The DA asked the court to declare cadre deployment unlawful and unconstitutional. The ANC and Ramaphosa, in his capacity as president of the country, opposed the application.

Arguments were heard last month. The ruling is awaited.

Earlier this month, the DA had a victory when the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ordered that the ANC hand over all its cadre deployment records to Schreiber.

It relates to the complete records of the ANC's national cadre deployment committee, including meeting minutes, WhatsApp conversations, email threads, CVs and any other documents, since 1 January 2013.

It also includes the period Ramaphosa was the chairperson of the cadre deployment committee, in his capacity as the ANC's deputy president, and when state capture was at its height.

The ANC indicated that it would appeal the decision.