MKP submits request to Speaker to consider its no-confidence motion in Ramaphosa for failing to fire Mchunu
The party said that by firing former Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, and not Mchunu, the president had failed to show that the Government of National Unity (GNU) was committed to real reform.
MK chief whip, Colleen Makhubele (centre), flanked by caucus leader, John Hlophe (left), and Brian Molefe (right) at a press briefing in Parliament, Cape Town on 22 July 2025 to discuss its position on the budget. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/EWN
CAPE TOWN - The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) said it’s submitted a request to the Speaker to consider its motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa for, among other things, failing to fire Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
The party said that by firing former Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, and not Mchunu, the president had failed to show that the Government of National Unity (GNU) was committed to real reform.
The party said it would reject the Appropriation Bill when it’s presented to the National Assembly House on Wednesday, and was rallying support from its so-called progressive partners to do the same.
While it supports the firing of Nkabane as higher education minister, the MK Party’s chief whip, Colleen Makhubele, said it did not signal real change at all under the GNU.
"The minister of higher education became the sacrificial lamb, a soft target that was easy to remove, but she’s not the be-all and end-all of corruption. There’s a systematic rot that’s happening within that whole GNU setup."
Parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, said that Nkabane’s firing was a strategic move and was merely President Ramaphosa pandering to the Democratic Alliance (DA) to shore up the votes needed to finalise the budget on Wednesday.
"I hope South Africans are not fooled. We in the MK Party can see through this. He’s doing it, not out of genuine concern for South Africans, but purely to get the votes from the DA."
The party said it would not be supporting any of the budget votes on Wednesday in the bill that apportions money to state departments, because they do not address the needs of the average South African.