by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG – BY pulling out of the national dialogue aimed at finding solutions to the numerous problems afflicting the country, the main partner in South Africa’s coalition government has exacerbated the woes of the administration.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has ditched the exercise, in response to the axing of its member, Andrew Whitfield as the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Whitfield, also the DA’s leader in the Eastern Cape province, and the cabinet member first to be axed since Ramaphosa appointed the cabinet on June 30, 2024, was fired for being part of a DA delegation that toured the United States at a time when the relations between the two countries became strained after Donald Trumped was sworn-in as president.
On Thursday, DA had given Ramaphosa a 48-hour ultimatum to fire from cabinet some members of his African National Congress (ANC) implicated in a number of controversies, largely corruption.
That ultimatum raised fears the DA would quit the uneasy coalition that has been at the helm since July 2024, months after the ANC lost the majority in elections it enjoyed over 30 years.
A motion of no confidence was considered against the president.
On Friday, Ramaphosa cancelled his planned trip to Spain in anticipation of an announcement by the DA.
The DA’s ultimatum elapsed on Saturday but amid fears the DA would pull out of the coalition, it quit the planned National Dialogue.
“Effective immediately, the DA will therefore have no further part in this process,” said John Steenhuisen, leader of the DA.
He said the party, which is the biggest partner of the ANC in this government, would actively mobilise civil society against the planned dialogue until Ramaphosa fired ANC-corruption accused and other so-called delinquents from the executive.
In Parliament, the DA will not support the departmental budgets of the ministries led by the implicated ministers.
The DA has concurred with critics that the R740 million for the dialogue was exorbitant and ought to be used to address pressing socio-economic issues. The DA believes that amount can be used to create more than 23 000 work opportunities.
“The people of South Africa should not be taken for fools,” Steenhuisen said.
“They know that any National Dialogue is utterly meaningless when it is presided over by criminals and the corrupt and those who provide safe refuge for them.”
Fikile Mbalula, Secretary General of the ANC, responded on behalf of the former liberation movement.
“At this juncture, it is imperative for the DA to clarify its stance,” Mbalula said.
“It is a genuine and principal partner in the GNU, or is it positioning itself as a quasi-opposition within the Executive?”
Mbalula said ANC was committed to the national dialogue and stability of the coalition government, also as the government of national unity (GNU).
Ramaphosa announced the national dialogue in December last year.
It aims to address pressing challenges such as gender-based violence and femicide, social fragmentation, racism, homophobia and sexism, violence and instability.
– CAJ News
