DA threathens to walk as Ramaphosa sparks GNU crisis with Whitfield firing
Former DTIC Deputy minister Andrew Whitfield warns the DA may exit the GNU if Ramaphosa fails to act on compromised ministers, calling the president's approach provocative, confusing, and damaging to political cooperation.
Image: DTIC/X
Former Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Andrew Whitfield, says the Democratic Alliance (DA) may reconsider its role in the Government of National Unity (GNU) if President Cyril Ramaphosa fails to act against ministers the party deems compromised.
This comes after DA leader John Steenhuisen issued an ultimatum to the president, demanding that Ministers Thembi Simelane, Minister Nkabane, Deputy Minister David Mahlobo, and others be removed within 48 hours.
Whitfield also says Ramaphosa's decision to fire him is inconsistent, disproportionate, and could destabilise the GNU.
In an interview on Face the Nation, Whitfield confirmed that the president gave no formal reason for his removal except to cite Section 93(1) of the Constitution, which gives him the prerogative to appoint and dismiss members of the executive.
'At no stage leading up to this letter that I received or up until this evening have I received any formal explanation as to what the reason may be,' Whitfield said.
The DA believes Whitfield's removal was linked to his decision to travel to the United States in February as part of a DA delegation without receiving written presidential approval.
Whitfield said he followed protocol by submitting a formal request 10 days before departure, as required by the ministerial handbook. Despite multiple follow-ups, he received no response from the Presidency.
'I decided to abide by the request of my party to travel abroad under the circumstances where no response was received. I simply took silence as consent,' he said.
'Perhaps that was an error in judgment on my part, but at the same time, I don't think the sanction, which appears quite dramatic, was proportionate.'
He added that he had sent a written apology to the president after the trip, but never received a reply.
'I think there were other ways to deal with this,' he said, adding that the president later declined other travel requests, including a personal study programme at Harvard University on inclusive economic growth, ironically, the apex priority of the GNU.
Whitfield further warned that the president's actions, or lack thereof, could jeopardise the GNU.
''The leader of the DA has made it very clear that a line has been crosse,d which is going to be difficult to turn back from.
'I just don't see a situation in which the DA can continue to operate in the GNU in the way that they have,' he said.
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Whitfield said the federal executive of the DA is expected to meet and decide on the next steps if the ultimatum is ignored.
'I think that there are a number of options at our disposal, leaving the GNU is one of them, and I think that the president believes that he, for whatever reason, that he thinks that the DA is perhaps not going to take that decision or perhaps the president simply doesn't want the GNU to work and has decided to provoke a reaction on something like this.'
Whitfield expressed frustration over the timing of the decision, suggesting it was politically motivated:
'If there was another way to sanction me, if he'd raised this a month ago, three months ago , it's been four months. I don't know why the timing is now and potentially putting the budget in jeopardy, which luckily didn't happen today.'
He also revealed that some ANC colleagues had privately expressed support and confusion over the president's decision.
'I've had some calls from colleagues in the ANC who have been perplexed; they've been supportive. They've reached out, and I've had a conversation or two. I think there's a bit of confusion inside the ANC around this as well.'
Whitfield noted that while the GNU presented an opportunity for political maturity and collaboration, the president had taken 'a different route entirely,' calling the move 'premature and deeply unfortunate.'
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