DA rejects Simelane, Nkabane departmental budgets
This after the party this week voted against budgets of the departments of human settlements and higher education led by Thembi Simelane-Nkadimeng and Nobuhle Nkabane respectively.
This decision was taken as a direct response to President Cyril Ramaphosa axing trade and industry deputy minister Andrew Whitfield, of the DA, last week for defying his order that none of the members of his executive were allowed to go to the US at the height of the diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The DA in response argued that Ramaphosa had been harsh on Whitfield and that it was not acceptable that he fired him for such a minor transgression while he still kept Simelane and Nkabane in his cabinet.
Unlike Whitfield, the DA argued, Simelane was accused of corruption and Nkabane stood accused of lying to parliament. Instead of dealing with the two ministers who were facing serious allegations, Ramaphosa decided to axe Whitfield for going on a trip without getting permission, the DA argued.
DA MP Luyolo Mphithi on Wednesday said his party was voting against Simelane's budget vote because of the corruption allegations she was facing.
Mphithi said the DA was concerned that instead of firing Simelane, Ramaphosa had moved her from the department of justice to human settlements.
'You'd think that the response to this that the president would have shown minister Simelane the door, he did not. He asked for the report that he stayed with for three months,' said Mphithi.
'And even though the DA sustained pressure asking the president to act, he lacked courage to act and instead decided to dump minister Simelane at human settlements, one of the most important departments for South Africans.'
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