DA won't participate in National Dialogue if Ramaphosa doesn't fire corruption-accused ministers

CAPE TOWN - The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it won’t participate in the upcoming National Dialogue, meant to determine policy and a single vision for the country, until President Cyril Ramaphosa fires ministers accused of corruption.

This firm stance comes after the party's 48-hour ultimatum to Ramaphosa, demanding the removal of ministers accused of corruption, expired on Saturday morning without action.

The ultimatum, issued by DA leader John Steenhuisen on Thursday, followed the sacking of the party's Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Andrew Whitfield, over an unsanctioned international trip.

Speaking in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon, Steenhuisen further declared that the DA would now withhold its votes for the budgets of departments presided over by corruption-accused ministers.

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Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa was acting with arrogance and with double standards in not acting decisively against corruption-accused within his own party.

"If the ANC wants to kick the DA out for fighting against corruption, then so be it."

Steenhuisen said a National Dialogue would be meaningless if the African National Congress (ANC) couldn’t engage adequately with its coalition partners.

He said the party would now actively lobby against it.

"As long as ANC members implicated in corruption remain as members of the executive, misleading parliament and committing other acts of malfeasance, the DA will not support their departmental budgets in parliament, and we will not participate in the National Dialogue."

Steenhuisen did not rule out a motion of no-confidence in the president if he doesn’t act decisively against corruption.