A year after South Africa’s landmark 2024 election produced a hung Parliament and saw the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), irreparable crisis fault lines have emerged — with the Democratic Alliance (DA) officially withdrawing from the National Dialogue, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa of failing to act on ANC corruption.
In a scathing address, the DA outlined a comprehensive case of how the ANC continually breached the spirit and letter of the GNU, forged on a shared Statement of Intent of coalition partners. For the DA, that was reneged in favour of power consolidation and political protectionism by the ANC.
The DA’s withdrawal comes after President Ramaphosa’s controversial sacking of DA MP Andrew Whitfield as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. The party claims the sacking is political and hypocritical, especially in comparison to DA leaders who had been embroiled in scandals and were given special treatment.
Ramaphosa’s firing of Whitfield, on a matter of travel authority, without notice, was exactly the same President who administered a light slap on the wrist to ANC leaders for flying to Zimbabwe on a military plane in 2020,” said the DA. “This is not a procedure thing. It’s punishing truth and protecting corruption.”
The DA pointed to Ramaphosa’s ongoing failure to act against ministers like Thembi Simelane and Nobuhle Nkabane, both of whom are facing serious charges, including VBS-looting and Parliament-deception. Instead of taking on corruption, the President presided over a pretence process in the guise of “National Dialogue” — a process the DA now pledges to boycott.
Describing the National Dialogue as a “waste of time and money,” the DA said it would no longer participate in the process, labelling it a R740 million taxpayer-funded public relations exercise with no basis in law.
“South Africa had a National Dialogue last year. It was an election,” the party further said. “People rejected ANC hegemony, but now the President employs the GNU as a cloak to keep the same corrupt politicians in government.”
Despite playing its part in the governance by occupying portfolios like Agriculture, Public Works, and Communications, the DA said it has grown increasingly disillusioned with the GNU’s failure to give honest reform or accountability.
From today onwards, the DA has resolved to protest against all departmental budgets presented by ANC ministers implicated in corruption or misconduct. They encompass those in Simelane’s portfolio and others that are involved in state capture.
While assuring that the broader GNU budget will continue to be funded in order to guarantee national stability, the DA strategy is designed to place pressure on the ANC to expel rogue ministers.
Secondly, the DA has announced that it will organize civil society to protest against the extension of the National Dialogue until the President takes decisive action against alleged corruption in his executive.
In the most biting segment of the DA’s statement, the party directly dared President Ramaphosa to head a government of unity, with a warning that a Motion of No Confidence is still on the table.
“President only enjoys prerogative powers due to GNU support — not divine right. He would not be in power without the DA,” the party added. “We voted for him in good faith. But we can also withdraw it if he keeps behaving in bad faith.”
Though a vote of no confidence has been tabled, the party has effectively signalled that its patience is thinning. The message here is unmistakable: the DA is out of patience with Ramaphosa not just as an ANC leader, but as the leader of a multiparty government that has to heal a battered nation.
Reciting its promise to unclean governance, economic transformation, and the voters’ wish, the DA maintained that its actions — including this last-ditch confrontation — are in the public interest.
“If the ANC wants to remove us for standing up to corruption, so be it,” the party averred.
The DA’s investigation now risks precipitating at a political showdown that could result in actual reform within the GNU — or reducing it to rubble. With coalition politics on the line, and popular fury gathering, the question is: will the ANC and Ramaphosa shift direction, or will South Africa’s experiment in unity collapse under the weight of its contradictions?
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