I will not yield to threats, Ramaphosa tells Steenhuisen
'Let it be clear that the president shall not yield to threats and ultimatums, especially coming from members of the executive that he has the prerogative to appoint in accordance with the constitution.'
He said Whitfield was removed because he undertook an international visit without his permission.
Whitfield's travel to the US was a clear violation of the rules and established practices governing the conduct of members of the executive, he said, adding that this requirement is known to all ministers and deputy ministers.
Ramaphosa said this practice is rigorously observed and adhered to by all members of the executive. However, Whitfield had deliberately chosen to violate this rule and practice.
Ramaphosa confirmed that he had informed Steenhuisen of his decision and requested he provide him with a name of a replacement.
'In that discussion, Mr Steenhuisen informed me that Mr Whitfield had been expecting that he may be dismissed on the grounds that he had undertaken an international trip without the president's permission. This expectation, along with a perfunctory letter of apology that Mr Whitfield wrote to me following his travel to the US without the required permission, indicated he was aware that his actions had violated the rules and established practices governing the conduct of members of the executive,' Ramaphosa said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mail & Guardian
16 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
DA will not leave GNU or table motion against Ramaphosa despite Whitfield firing
DA Leader John Steenhuisen. (Delwyn Verasamy / M&G) Despite feeling hard-done-by over the firing of one of its deputy ministers, the Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will not leave the government of national unity (GNU) or table a motion of no confidence against President However, the party said on Saturday it was withdrawing from a DA leader The DA had earlier in the week — after Whitfield's axing — given Ramaphosa a 48-hour ultimatum to similarly fire corruption‑accused ministers Ramaphosa responded that he would not be swayed by threats or ultimatums, insisting that he had acted within his constitutional powers in letting Whitfield go. On Saturday Steenhuisen said the DA would remain in the GNU despite how it had been treated, arguing that leaving would open South Africa to a 'coalition of chaos and destruction' with disastrous consequences, through the inclusion of radical parties such as the 'We've said to South Africans when we went into the GNU that we're here for the best interests of South Africa,' he said. 'We do not believe that it is the best interest of South Africa for the current GNU to collapse and for a coalition of chaos or corruption to follow, because the feeding frenzy that would then result from MK or the EFF getting into office and other parties will be significant.' But he added: 'Things have to change. They cannot stay the same as they are, and the ANC needs to start realizing that we are part of a coalition. Being part of a coalition means that you show respect to your coalition partners. I have shown nothing but respect to the president throughout the term of the GNU, and we will continue to do so — but it is only fair that respect is reciprocated.' Steenhuisen dared Ramaphosa to eject the DA out of the coalition government, telling journalists: 'If the ANC wants to kick the DA out for fighting corruption, well, so be it.' He said tabling a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa was still on the table. 'We understand the concerns that many South Africans have about what will follow once Ramaphosa is removed from office. However, I want to be honest that, in the DA's view, the president is failing to uphold his word to act against corruption and fast becoming indistinguishable from the 'Now, while the federal executive decided not to table a motion of no confidence at this stage, it is clear that the DA is losing confidence in the president's ability to act as a leader — not only of the ANC but of the GNU, of which we are the second-largest component.' The DA also announced its withdrawal from the national dialogue which is expected to bring citizens together to address corruption, gender-based violence, unemployment, and other social ills. 'It is clear the dialogue will be nothing more than a waste of time and money — a distraction from ANC failures. This explains why they are so obsessed with it; it's clearly an electioneering ploy at taxpayers' expense to gloss over the serious crises they have plunged South Africa into,' Steenhuisen said. 'The dialogue has no constitutional standing to impose decisions. Frankly, if the president cannot meaningfully engage with his coalition partners, there is little point pretending this is anything more than an ANC-run national dialogue.' He added that the DA would mobilise civil society to oppose what he called an 'obscene waste' of over R700 million of public funds. It would demand that the dialogue not proceed unless Ramaphosa removed corrupt ANC individuals from the national executive. 'The reality is, no matter what the dialogue resolves — no matter how many noble resolutions or feel-good moments — it will not bring meaningful change if the same corrupt individuals remain in cabinet. The people of South Africa should not be taken for fools.' The DA would also vote against upcoming budget proposals for departments led by Simelane, Nkabane, and other corruption‑accused ministers and persist until those ministers were removed, Steenhuisen said. He defended Whitfield for his US trip, which he said was not a government one. 'He went to a party function—there were no meetings at the White House or anything of that nature. He was there as a member of the DA. It was a party-funded trip, not paid for by the government, and despite repeated follow-ups, he has never received a response.' The DA would submit a name to replace Whitfield as deputy minister, Steenhuisen added. 'It is a DA decision, and once again, the fact that we have six ministers and six deputy ministers in the GNU shows how we are committed to South Africa.'
eNCA
17 hours ago
- eNCA
'Waste of time' - says DA as it withdraws from National Dialogue
CAPE TOWN - The DA has decided to stay in the Government of National Unity, because it wants to avoid chaos. But the senior GNU partner has withdrawn from the National Dialogue, describing it as a waste of time. Leader John Steenhuisen accuses president Cyril Ramaphosa of double standards, for firing deputy Trade and Industry Minister Andrew Whitfield, while protecting underperforming ministers. "They know that the performance of DA ministers makes some of their contributions pale into insignificant. And most importantly they know that the opportunities for looting and stealing of public money are shrinking wherever DA is present and wherever DA reforms are implemented," explained Steenhuisen. "This flagrant double standard that protects the likes of Simelane and Nkabane but acts against Whitfield prove that in the ANC universe the only thing you should dare not be, are competent, honest and hardworking," Steenhuisen added.
Daily Maverick
17 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
DA withdraws from National Dialogue, will vote against budgets of ‘corruption accused' ANC ministers
The DA will oppose the budget votes of 'corruption accused ANC ministers' – including Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane and Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane. The DA is not leaving the Government of National Unity (GNU), but it will not participate in the looming National Dialogue, following the axing of its Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Andrew Whitfield. 'Frankly, the President cannot even dialogue meaningfully with his own coalition partners, so there is little point in pretending there is any substance to an ANC-run National Dialogue,' DA leader John Steenhuisen said at a press conference in Cape Town on Saturday, 28 June. 'Effective immediately, the DA will therefore have no further part in this process. 'We will also actively mobilise against it to stop this obscene waste of R740-million – starting with a call on civil society to join us in demanding that the National Dialogue not proceed until President [Cyril] Ramaphosa fires ANC corruption accused and other delinquents from the executive,' Steenhuisen continued. Earlier this month, Ramaphosa announced the appointment of 31 prominent South Africans to lead the National Dialogue expected to take place on 15 August this year. The initiative – meant to tackle a wide range of South Africa's pressing issues including unemployment, poor governance and gender-based violence – was met with immediate opposition owing largely to its R740-million price tag. Steenhuisen announced the decision of the DA's Federal Executive (FedEx) after Ramaphosa removed Whitfield from his position on Wednesday, 25 June, providing no reason for his dismissal. Whitfield's removal, it later emerged, was apparently due to an 'unauthorised' trip he took to the US for the DA in February this year. On Thursday, Steenhuisen gave the president an ' ultimatum ' to clean house of the ANC ministers and deputy ministers implicated in corruption within 48 hours or face 'grave consequences'. He accused Ramaphosa of a 'flagrant double standard' and had specifically called on him to remove Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane, Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane and Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo from his Executive. The political developments surrounding South Africa's fragile coalition government, caused Ramaphosa to cancel his trip to Seville, Spain, on 30 June, to attend a conference on financing for development. He instead delegated International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola to attend. 'President Ramaphosa has delegated Minister Lamola as the Head of Delegation for the Summit following recent political developments that require close monitoring and management in the country,' his office said in a statement on Saturday. According to a Sunday Times report earlier on Saturday, the DA was said to be considering leaving the GNU. In response to questions from reporters on why the party has decided to remain in the coalition government, Steenhuisen said the DA did not believe that it was 'in the interest of South Africa for the current GNU to collapse'. He said that if the GNU were to break, it would cause 'significant economic damage' to the country. Steenhuisen said the country 'benefits' from having the DA in the GNU. 'A more impactful way would not have been to leave the Government of National Unity, because that would've opened South Africa up to the coalition of chaos and destruction, and would have led very clearly to more disastrous consequences for South Africa,' he said. Steenhuisen threw the ball back into Ramaphosa's court, saying it was up to the ANC whether they wanted to kick the DA out of the national coalition. 'The ball is in the President's court and the ANC's court – if they want to take a strong stance against us and want to stop us [from] standing against corruption, well, they must fire us from the Government of National Unity,' he said. DA to vote against budget votes In addition to mobilising against the National Dialogue, Steenhuisen said the DA would also be voting against the individual budget votes for Simelane and Nkabane's departments. ' A second, critically important step that the DA is taking, is to vote against upcoming departmental budget votes for the departments headed by Simelane, Nkabane, and other corruption accused ANC ministers. 'We will keep voting against those departmental votes until those ministers are removed. 'In this way, the DA will strike the appropriate balance by allowing the broader GNU budget process to proceed to ensure the stability of the country, while forcing the ANC to act against specific ministers. 'If the ANC wants our support for those departmental budgets, they must replace the incumbent ministers with alternatives that meet the very standard the President has set for himself through Whitfield's axing,' said Steenhuisen. He said that the ministers in those portfolios would need to source other ways of getting their budgets passed in Parliament. 'We won't be voting against the globular budget and, I think, that is a result of the fact that we want to ensure that delivery proceeds for the people of South Africa. But those individual budget votes where ministers are severely compromised and sitting at the top of those departments, will obviously have to find other ways to get those budgets passed,' he said. Steenhuisen added that the party's Federal Executive had also considered tabling a motion of no confidence in Ramaphosa. However, he said the DA understood the concerns of many South Africans if Ramaphosa were removed as President. 'While the FedEx decided not to table a Motion of No Confidence at this stage, it is clear that the DA is in the process of losing confidence in his ability to act as a leader not of the ANC, but of the GNU of which we are the second-largest component,' said Steenhuisen. 'If the ANC fails to course-correct, the FedEx will seriously consider exercising our constitutional prerogative by tabling a motion of no confidence.' He mentioned, on several occasions, that the GNU Statement of Intent had been undermined by Ramaphosa and the ANC. 'I think the intent of the Statement of Intent is correct, but it would be great if that was being honored. It is being repeatedly violated. It says a lot about where we're at that a year later, we still have a conflict resolution mechanism; that the Clearing House in the GNU has no terms of reference,' he said. Steenhuisen said that Ramaphosa had not afforded him the opportunity to inform Whitfield himself about what was expected to happen before he received a letter from Ramaphosa alerting him of his removal. 'That is not respectful and that is not right,' he said, suggesting that certain clauses relating to consultation and consensus in the Statement of Intent were violated. 'The Statement of Intent needs to be respected in both letter and spirit,' he said. A replacement for Whitfield Steenhuisen did not provide any names for Whitfield's replacement, saying that the decision was with the party's FedEx. 'We will be submitting a replacement name, and that will obviously be a matter for our Federal Executive to take through the process. It is a DA position, and once again, the fact that we got six ministers and six deputy ministers, is also another example of how we put South Africa first. We, proportionately, are entitled to a lot more than that, and yet it is another matter we had to swallow at that particular time to make sure we got a GNU that worked,' he said. DM
