Read more
The DA's federal executive will meet later today.
President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: @GovernmentZA / X
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed the removal of Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry and Competition and DA MP Andrew Whitfield from his position.
“The president has thanked the former deputy minister for the time he served in the role,” reads a statement from the Presidency on Thursday.
A highly placed source told The Citizen that Whitfield had a turbulent relationship with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau and Ramaphosa.
Another source said Whitfield had been punished for insubordination after 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.
The Citizen understands that DA parliamentarians have been on edge since the announcement of Whitfield’s removal, with members seen walking in and out of committee meetings.
Meanwhile, DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille has announced she had convened an urgent meeting of the DA’s federal executive on Thursday, following “the actions of President Cyril Ramaphosa around the composition of the national executive of the government of national unity”.
ALSO READ: Starlink proposal sparks rift in GNU
The DA’s federal executive will meet later on Thursday.
Although the Presidency confirmed the removal of the DA MP from his position, Ramaphosa denied his intention to conduct a full Cabinet reshuffle.
Earlier on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni declined to comment on the rumoured Cabinet reshuffle, stating that it was the president’s prerogative to appoint or remove ministers.
“I’m a minister, if there’s a reshuffle, I’m equally affected. So, I would not know whether there is a reshuffle or not until I’m called to say there is one,” said Ntshavheni.
“In terms of the constitution, the president exercises power in two forms. There is power that he exercises collectively with his Cabinet, and power that he exercises alone as the president. The decision to appoint and remove ministers and deputy ministers is the sole prerogative of the president. He exercises without consulting anyone.
ALSO READ: Zille: We’re not in the GNU to please the ANC
“I cannot answer the question about the reshuffle as I am unsure who is being reshuffled, appointed, or removed. I have no such power or authority. It’s a very difficult question for me to respond to.”
Ramaphosa’s GNU anniversary
The DA MP’s removal comes a year after the formation of the government of national unity, which Ntshavheni said came with realisations from the opposition benches.
“What has changed is that colleagues have experienced that it is easier to be in opposition than in government, because when you’re in opposition, your job is to criticise. When you’re in government, your job is to find solutions to the country’s challenges. That realisation made quite an impact on all of us.
ALSO READ: Magwenya: Ramaphosa optimistic after Trump meeting boosts US-SA ties
“If you’ve noticed, a number of coalition governments have fallen in their first year or through the budget, and we almost went there. We have all now agreed on the budget and the work that still needs to be done.
“Where we are, we challenge each other about the pace of implementation. In the first year, we had to deal with a lot of ‘DA minister this, DA minister that’ and we had to clarify that there is no DA minister, we are all government ministers. We are now moving past that and working towards being one government, accepting that the wins of one are the wins of all.
“We have also accepted that there is no one department that can work without the support of others.”
READ NEXT: Ramaphosa: Transformation is key to shared prosperity
