South Africa's DA party withdraws from national dialogue amid coalition dispute
FILE PHOTO: John Steenhuisen, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and Minister of Agriculture of South Africa, arrives at the Cape Town City Hall ahead of the State Of The Nation (SONA) address by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town, South Africa February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma/File Photo
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Democratic Alliance party has withdrawn from a national dialogue but stopped short of leaving the coalition government after President Cyril Ramaphosa fired one of its deputy ministers, DA leader John Steenhuisen said on Saturday.
The national dialogue is a process launched by Ramaphosa to unite the country after last year's election, which saw his African National Congress lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in three decades, forcing it to team up with the DA to form a government.
The two parties are far apart ideologically and have clashed repeatedly over the last year, as the DA has accused the ANC of acting against its interests and without proper consultation.
Steenhuisen said the DA federal executive had also considered tabling a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa, but decided against it.
However, he said the party was "in the process of losing confidence in his ability to act as a leader not of the ANC, but of the GNU (Government of National Unity)."
Ramaphosa sacked deputy trade minister Andrew Whitfield this week over an unauthorised trip to the United States, and said the DA should nominate a replacement. REUTERS
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