Mbalula warns DA Ramaphosa won’t tolerate disrespect from deputy ministers
The two parties have been at loggerheads due to the sacking of Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.
FILE: ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula during a media briefing at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on 13 March 2025. Picture: Spamandla Dlamini/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has warned the Democratic Alliance (DA) that President Cyril Ramaphosa will not sit back and tolerate disrespect from deputy ministers.
The two parties have been at loggerheads due to the sacking of Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.
Whitfield was fired last week after embarking on an unauthorised international trip.
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This has angered the DA, with the party giving the president a 48-hour ultimatum to reinstate Whitfield.
To some, it comes as no surprise that the ANC and DA find themselves in yet another political standoff.
The latest fallout has led the DA to threaten a motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa and to boycott the National Dialogue.
The party has also warned it may withhold support for the budgets of ministers accused of corruption.
But Mbalula said that the DA should know better than to disrespect a sitting president.
"The president will not sit back and tolerate disrespect from deputy ministers. Nelson Mandela fired his own wife from Cabinet for a similar offence. So, who does Andrew Whitfield think he is?"
Mbalula insists the Government of National Unity (GNU) will remain intact even if the DA decides to walk away.