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The DA has described Whitfield's dismissal as an assault on the party.
Andrew Whitfield. Picture: Gallo Images/ Die Burger/ Lulama Zenzile
Questions have been raised about the real reasons behind the firing of Andrew Whitfield, the deputy minister of trade and industry, this week.
In a surprise move, Ramaphosa removed Whitfield from his position on Thursday with no details on the reason for the decision.
DA leader John Steenhuisen later revealed that Whitfield had been axed for taking a trip to the US earlier this year without Ramaphosa’s permission. The trip to meet with representatives of the Donald Trump administration was meant to ease tensions between the two countries.
‘That is just a side show’
“I do not think that the reason to let go of Whitfield revolves around that trip to the US. That is just a side show. This has a lot to do with his work as a minister and his relationship with Park Tau,” political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast told The Citizen on Friday.
“We have to ask what argument Parks Tau presented to the president about Whitfield did because this is where the real problem lies,” he said.
He said Tau and Whitfield could have differing views on several issues within the Department of Trade and Industry, including appointments to boards and the transformation fund.
“This is where the real problem lies,” he said.
The ANC does not have a majority
Breakfast believes Ramaphosa acted in “bad faith” by firing Whitfield without proper consultation with his partners in the government of national unity (GNU).
“The ANC did not win elections with a majority. He needed the DA to form a government. He cannot say that he has the right to fire him. If that is the case, why did he not have the right to form a government by himself as the leader of the ANC?”
Breakfast said there are many MPs who have made diplomatic blunders but have not been fired.
“How many people have gone to the US and said real nonsense, but nothing has happened to them. This is not the real reason why the president has let go of this man,” he said.
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What next for the DA?
Even though the DA has given Ramaphosa 48 hours to reinstate Whitfield or fire other Ministers in his Cabinet who have broken the law, Breakfast does not believe that the DA will walk away from the GNU.
“They will not leave. They know what is at stake and there is this threat of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and EFF coming into government. They would not want that,” he said.
Breakfast believes that those who fund the DA will also not be happy with them leaving government.
“Remember, he who pays the piper plays the tune. In politics, ideas are not without someone funding them.
“The GNU is not a brainchild of the DA or the ANC; this is what the markets want. These people are funded,” he said.
He said he does not believe that Ramaphosa will bend to the DA’s commands by firing other ministers in the wrong. Instead, he said Ramaphosa will find other ways of appeasing the DA.
“He might give them another ministry or ask for another name,” he said.
NOW READ: ‘Greatest political mistake’: Steenhuisen says Ramaphosa firing Whitfield was a ‘calculated assault’
