By OBAKENG MAJE
26 June 2025- The Republic of South Africa (RSA) president, Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Andrew Whitfield from his position as the Deputy Minister of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic). Ramaphosa thanked Whitfield for the time he served in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
According to the Presidency, his removal was in accordance with Section 93(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The Presidency has not indicated any intention to conduct a wholesale Cabinet reshuffle.
However, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said it has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Ramaphosa after ‘unjust’ firing of Whitfield.
The DA leader, John Steenhuisen who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) said, yesterday, Ramaphosa put South Africa’s future at stake. Steenhuisen said shortly before cabinet met yesterday, he informed him that, he intends to remove Whitfield as Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.
“I requested 24-hours to speak to Whitfield and my party. However, before I could even do so, just three hours later, Whitfield received a letter informing him of his removal. The apparent reason for this sudden and ill-considered decision is that Whitfield did not obtain permission to travel abroad earlier this year.
“But, the facts contradict even this flimsy reasoning. In fact, on 12 February 2025, Whitfield had written to the President requesting permission to travel to the United States, as required by the Ministerial Handbook,” he said.
Steenhuisen further said, ten days later, he had still not received any response from the presidency, and departed on the trip. He added that Whitfield subsequently wrote to the President to apologise if it caused offence.
“Again, he received no response. Then yesterday, months after the incident and without a further word on it, the President unilaterally removed a DA Deputy Minister without even giving his largest coalition partner the courtesy of discussing the issue.
“According to the President’s spokesperson, this move is also not part of a broader reshuffle. There is no other conclusion to be drawn than that this is a calculated political assault on the second-largest party in the governing coalition,” said Steenhuisen.
He said to make matters even worse, this drastic unilateral action appears to be the product of a flagrant double standard. Steenhuisen alleged that, while a DA Deputy Minister is removed for not getting a response to seeking permission to travel, Thembi Simelane remains in cabinet despite being implicated in the VBS looting.
“Nobuhle Nkabane remains in cabinet, despite apparently misleading Parliament over an attempt to deploy corrupt cadres to SETA boards. Serial underperformers, as well as people implicated in state capture, continue to sit around the cabinet table.
“Instead of being summarily fired, Simelane was merely asked to submit a “report” on the allegations against her to the President and moved to another portfolio. In the past, even Ministers who had serious Public Protector findings were merely admonished or had their pay docked,” he said.
Steenhuisen alleged that David Mahlobo is implicated in the most serious corruption by the state capture commission, yet he continues in the position as Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation. He said yet a DA Deputy Minister is dismissed with the flimsiest of excuses.
“The people of South Africa are expected to accept that the likes of Simelane, Nkabane and Mahlobo are protected, while Andrew Whitfield is removed? But perhaps there is something even deeper at play here. Like all DA Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Andrew Whitfield was succeeding at his job.
“He had opposed an attempt to make suspect appointments, he was standing in the way of the looting that will follow from the Transformation Fund – and all of this in a department mired in corruption allegations involving the tender for the National Lottery,” said Steenhuisen.
He said given this flagrant double standard, one is left with no choice but to conclude that hardworking DA Members of the Executive are now being fired for fighting corruption, not for committing corruption. Steenhuisen said DA Ministers and Deputies are said to be good at their jobs, rather than being incompetent.
The Guardian 