Axed deputy DTIC minister, Whitfield, says he was sidelined by Tau for last 6 months
JOHANNESBURG - Fired deputy minister of trade and industry, Andrew Whitfield, said that he had spent the past six months being sidelined by Minister Parks Tau.
Whitfield, who said that he received no reason for his axing by President Cyril Ramaphosa, insisted that he acted in good faith during his time in government.
He told 702 that he assumed he was fired because of a trip he took to Washington on behalf of his political party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), in March.
Whitfield said that he had never undermined the minister.
"I have objected and opposed to a number of issues. I have done that discreetly within the department, in fact through writing to the minister, whether it's on the legal sector codes, the broad-based economic empowerment legal sector codes, whether it's the Transformation Fund or a range of other issues around governance, board appointments, cadre deployments, you name it."
Whitfield's political party argued that he was fired for succeeding at his job, which included opposing some appointments, halting what they claim would have been looting from the Transformation Fund and keeping an eye on the national lottery tender.
Whitfield said that he still had questions about some of the processes that had unfolded.
"And so the minister included me at the end of last year and I was then sidelined for the last six months. So, I have had no line of sight of the process, but certainly have had some questions, which I would like to pose to the minister if given the opportunity, which I have not yet had."
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