This story is interesting even though there isn’t a clear positive or negative development. It is a good story to read to get a sense of how much power, or lack thereof, the DA has in this coalition.
Basically, a DA Deputy Minister travelled abroad on party business without obtaining Ramaphosa’s permission (although he did request it and was ignored). This is against the rules and he was fired. Previous administrations have also fired ministers for the same thing.
The DA feel slighted and have brought up the fact that there are several ministers accused of corruption still serving in Cabinet. They gave the President an ultimatum to also fire those ministers within 48h, which he rebuffed.
The thing is, everyone knows the DA can’t leave the GNU. That’s not going to happen. In the words of President Trump, they “don’t have the cards”.
The headline response from the DA is that they will now no longer participate in Ramaphosa’s “National Dialogue” which is currently being planned. The National Dialogue is, in my estimation, a legitimacy building exercise for Ramaphosa to undertake more policy reforms. But some mainstream commentators have ridiculed it as just a talk shop or, more cyncially, as a kind of quasi campaigning platform for the 2026 Local Elections.
But what is buried in this story is a small flex from the DA about which cards they do have:
> But he [Steenhuisen] added: “Things have to change. They cannot stay the same as they are, and the ANC needs to start realizing that we are part of a coalition. Being part of a coalition means that you show respect to your coalition partners. I have shown nothing but respect to the president throughout the term of the GNU, and we will continue to do so — but it is only fair that respect is reciprocated.”
> Steenhuisen dared Ramaphosa to eject the DA out of the coalition government, telling journalists: “If the ANC wants to kick the DA out for fighting corruption, well, so be it.”
> He said tabling a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa was still on the table.
> “We understand the concerns that many South Africans have about what will follow once Ramaphosa is removed from office. However, I want to be honest that, in the DA’s view, the president is failing to uphold his word to act against corruption and fast becoming indistinguishable from the RET (radical economic transformation) faction in his party,” Steenhuisen said.
> The DA would also vote against upcoming budget proposals for departments led by Simelane, Nkabane, and other corruption‑accused ministers and persist until those ministers were removed, Steenhuisen said.
The first option would be to call a vote of no confidence in Ramaphosa.
The second option is to use their power in Parliament to block or at least frustrate the ANC getting parts of the budget through. This is, of course, how Parliament and coalitions are supposed to work.
Obviously, the second option is the more moderate, first step. But I think it is important that the DA flex their muscle on the idea of a no confidence vote.
In any case, as much as South Africa has made an astonishing leap into a new political era since 2024, the DA is not yet the leading party. It is still weak, and it is probably very frustrating to be in power and weak rather than merely in opposition. But these are still very early days.
The DA have a leadership election next year. There are also local government elections next year and then the ANC party conference in 2027. Everything party leaders say and do should be analysed in light of these facts.
PawanYr on
Maybe someone else has more insight on this, but I really don’t understand why *this* was the issue the DA decided to pull their big 48-hour ultimatum thing over, especially when they were never going to be able to follow through on it in a meaningful way. They could have just released a grumbly statement, appointed someone else, and kept the powder dry for more meaningful fights.
The deputy minister himself did a sort of mea culpa and acknowledged he broke the rules; are there far worse ANC ministers? Most definitely, but that’s the way it goes in coalition politics.
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This story is interesting even though there isn’t a clear positive or negative development. It is a good story to read to get a sense of how much power, or lack thereof, the DA has in this coalition.
Basically, a DA Deputy Minister travelled abroad on party business without obtaining Ramaphosa’s permission (although he did request it and was ignored). This is against the rules and he was fired. Previous administrations have also fired ministers for the same thing.
The DA feel slighted and have brought up the fact that there are several ministers accused of corruption still serving in Cabinet. They gave the President an ultimatum to also fire those ministers within 48h, which he rebuffed.
The thing is, everyone knows the DA can’t leave the GNU. That’s not going to happen. In the words of President Trump, they “don’t have the cards”.
The headline response from the DA is that they will now no longer participate in Ramaphosa’s “National Dialogue” which is currently being planned. The National Dialogue is, in my estimation, a legitimacy building exercise for Ramaphosa to undertake more policy reforms. But some mainstream commentators have ridiculed it as just a talk shop or, more cyncially, as a kind of quasi campaigning platform for the 2026 Local Elections.
But what is buried in this story is a small flex from the DA about which cards they do have:
> But he [Steenhuisen] added: “Things have to change. They cannot stay the same as they are, and the ANC needs to start realizing that we are part of a coalition. Being part of a coalition means that you show respect to your coalition partners. I have shown nothing but respect to the president throughout the term of the GNU, and we will continue to do so — but it is only fair that respect is reciprocated.”
> Steenhuisen dared Ramaphosa to eject the DA out of the coalition government, telling journalists: “If the ANC wants to kick the DA out for fighting corruption, well, so be it.”
> He said tabling a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa was still on the table.
> “We understand the concerns that many South Africans have about what will follow once Ramaphosa is removed from office. However, I want to be honest that, in the DA’s view, the president is failing to uphold his word to act against corruption and fast becoming indistinguishable from the RET (radical economic transformation) faction in his party,” Steenhuisen said.
> The DA would also vote against upcoming budget proposals for departments led by Simelane, Nkabane, and other corruption‑accused ministers and persist until those ministers were removed, Steenhuisen said.
The first option would be to call a vote of no confidence in Ramaphosa.
The second option is to use their power in Parliament to block or at least frustrate the ANC getting parts of the budget through. This is, of course, how Parliament and coalitions are supposed to work.
Obviously, the second option is the more moderate, first step. But I think it is important that the DA flex their muscle on the idea of a no confidence vote.
In any case, as much as South Africa has made an astonishing leap into a new political era since 2024, the DA is not yet the leading party. It is still weak, and it is probably very frustrating to be in power and weak rather than merely in opposition. But these are still very early days.
The DA have a leadership election next year. There are also local government elections next year and then the ANC party conference in 2027. Everything party leaders say and do should be analysed in light of these facts.
Maybe someone else has more insight on this, but I really don’t understand why *this* was the issue the DA decided to pull their big 48-hour ultimatum thing over, especially when they were never going to be able to follow through on it in a meaningful way. They could have just released a grumbly statement, appointed someone else, and kept the powder dry for more meaningful fights.
The deputy minister himself did a sort of mea culpa and acknowledged he broke the rules; are there far worse ANC ministers? Most definitely, but that’s the way it goes in coalition politics.