DA leader John Steenhuisen has condemned President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dismissal of deputy trade, industry and competition minister Andrew Whitfield, calling it a calculated assault on the governing coalition.
Steenhuisen, who serves as agriculture minister, revealed that Ramaphosa had informed him of the decision shortly before Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, but acted on it just hours later, before the DA could consult Whitfield or respond formally.
He was speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Citing what he described as flimsy and contradictory reasons for the dismissal, Steenhuisen accused the president of targeting competent DA members while shielding underperforming or tainted ministers.
“If this is not corrected, it will go down as the greatest political mistake in modern South African history.”
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed that the president had exercised his constitutional prerogative to remove Whitfield from his position in the executive.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa had already informed Whitfield of his decision.
“The presidency can confirm that in terms of Section 93(1) of the constitution, President Ramaphosa has removed Andrew Whitfield, MP, from the position of deputy minister for trade, industry and competition.
“The president has thanked the former deputy minister for the time he served in the role.”
Ramaphosa is said to have warned Whitfield against being part of a DA delegation to the US, including MP Emma Powell, to meet the Trump administration to defuse the fallout between Washington and Pretoria, but he disregarded the warning.
Whitfield serves as the DA’s Eastern Cape leader and is a former councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay. He previously held the position of MPL in Bhisho.
He could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
Steenhuisen said he requested 24 hours to speak to Whitfield and inform the party.
“However, before I could do so, just three hours later, he received a letter informing him of his removal.
“The apparent reason for this ill-considered decision is that he did not get permission to travel abroad earlier this year.”
An ANC insider said Ramaphosa had declined a request by Whitfield and forestry, fisheries and the environment minister Dion George to travel to the US.
But Steenhuisen said the facts contradicted this reasoning.
He said Whitfield wrote to Ramaphosa on February 12 seeking permission but received no response even 10 days later.
“He subsequently wrote to the president to apologise if he’d offended, and again he got no response.
“Then [on Wednesday], months after the incident, the president unilaterally removed the DA deputy minister without giving his largest coalition partner an opportunity to discuss it with the member or his party.
“According to the president’s spokesperson,this move is not part of a broader reshuffle, and therefore there’s no other conclusion that can be drawn that this is a calculated assault on the second-largest party in the governing coalition.”
Steenhuisen said the decision was illogical, given that the cabinet still included members implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, those who allegedly misled parliament over attempts to deploy cadres to Seta boards, as well as serial underperformers and individuals linked to state capture.
“One is left with no choice but to conclude that hard-working DA members are fired for fighting corruption and not for committing it, and for being good in their jobs rather than incompetent.
“If this is not corrected, it will go down as the greatest political mistake in modern SA history.”
The removal of Whitfield came amid calls urging Ramaphosa to fire higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane over the handling of the botched Seta board appointments.
The dismissal is likely to cause further tensions between the DA and the ANC in the government of national unity (GNU).
The decision prompted DA federal council chair Helen Zille to call an urgent meeting of the party’s federal executive on Thursday.
“I have convened an urgent meeting of the DA’s federal executive after the actions of President Ramaphosa about the composition of the national executive of the GNU,” Zille said.
“The DA’s federal executive will meet later today [Thursday] and the DA will give further comment later.” — Additional reporting by TimesLIVE
The Herald
Whitfield’s dismissal a calculated assault on GNU — Steenhuisen
As DA federal executive meets, party’s leader brands Ramaphosa’s firing of deputy minister ‘greatest political mistake in modern SA history’
Image: WERNER HILLS
DA leader John Steenhuisen has condemned President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dismissal of deputy trade, industry and competition minister Andrew Whitfield, calling it a calculated assault on the governing coalition.
Steenhuisen, who serves as agriculture minister, revealed that Ramaphosa had informed him of the decision shortly before Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, but acted on it just hours later, before the DA could consult Whitfield or respond formally.
He was speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Citing what he described as flimsy and contradictory reasons for the dismissal, Steenhuisen accused the president of targeting competent DA members while shielding underperforming or tainted ministers.
“If this is not corrected, it will go down as the greatest political mistake in modern South African history.”
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed that the president had exercised his constitutional prerogative to remove Whitfield from his position in the executive.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa had already informed Whitfield of his decision.
“The presidency can confirm that in terms of Section 93(1) of the constitution, President Ramaphosa has removed Andrew Whitfield, MP, from the position of deputy minister for trade, industry and competition.
“The president has thanked the former deputy minister for the time he served in the role.”
Ramaphosa is said to have warned Whitfield against being part of a DA delegation to the US, including MP Emma Powell, to meet the Trump administration to defuse the fallout between Washington and Pretoria, but he disregarded the warning.
Whitfield serves as the DA’s Eastern Cape leader and is a former councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay. He previously held the position of MPL in Bhisho.
He could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
Steenhuisen said he requested 24 hours to speak to Whitfield and inform the party.
“However, before I could do so, just three hours later, he received a letter informing him of his removal.
“The apparent reason for this ill-considered decision is that he did not get permission to travel abroad earlier this year.”
An ANC insider said Ramaphosa had declined a request by Whitfield and forestry, fisheries and the environment minister Dion George to travel to the US.
But Steenhuisen said the facts contradicted this reasoning.
He said Whitfield wrote to Ramaphosa on February 12 seeking permission but received no response even 10 days later.
“He subsequently wrote to the president to apologise if he’d offended, and again he got no response.
“Then [on Wednesday], months after the incident, the president unilaterally removed the DA deputy minister without giving his largest coalition partner an opportunity to discuss it with the member or his party.
“According to the president’s spokesperson,this move is not part of a broader reshuffle, and therefore there’s no other conclusion that can be drawn that this is a calculated assault on the second-largest party in the governing coalition.”
Steenhuisen said the decision was illogical, given that the cabinet still included members implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, those who allegedly misled parliament over attempts to deploy cadres to Seta boards, as well as serial underperformers and individuals linked to state capture.
“One is left with no choice but to conclude that hard-working DA members are fired for fighting corruption and not for committing it, and for being good in their jobs rather than incompetent.
“If this is not corrected, it will go down as the greatest political mistake in modern SA history.”
The removal of Whitfield came amid calls urging Ramaphosa to fire higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane over the handling of the botched Seta board appointments.
The dismissal is likely to cause further tensions between the DA and the ANC in the government of national unity (GNU).
The decision prompted DA federal council chair Helen Zille to call an urgent meeting of the party’s federal executive on Thursday.
“I have convened an urgent meeting of the DA’s federal executive after the actions of President Ramaphosa about the composition of the national executive of the GNU,” Zille said.
“The DA’s federal executive will meet later today [Thursday] and the DA will give further comment later.” — Additional reporting by TimesLIVE
The Herald
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