Gayton McKenzie says Patriotic Alliance will withdraw from Government of National Unity, vows to resign as minister on Tuesday

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie says he will resign on Tuesday when his party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), formally withdraws from the Government of National Unity (GNU).

This follows an ultimatum issued to Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero to reinstate the party’s deputy president, Kenny Kunene, to his former mayoral committee role.

A legal probe, ordered by McKenzie, cleared Kunene of any wrongdoing after he was found at the scene of the arrest of murder-accused Katiso Molefe.

In a social media post this morning, McKenzie said his party would also be withdrawing from all other coalitions at different levels of government next week.

The PA leader said his party had been accommodating in the Johannesburg metro, even relinquishing one of two promised mayoral committee seats to the IFP.

But he accused Mayor Morero of colluding with the EFF to hand the transport portfolio to another party, while blocking the appointment of 24-year-old PA newcomer Liam Jacobs.

McKenzie described the humiliation of having to withdraw Jacobs - a former DA MP - as a city councillor after just a few weeks.

He added that the final straw was the city’s failure to provide water to communities in Westbury and Newclare, claiming he personally arranged four water trucks to respond to residents’ desperate appeals.

McKenzie said the PA cannot be part of a coalition where it is not respected and will rather withdraw.

If he follows through, the PA will be the first party to exit the GNU since its formation 15 months ago, and McKenzie will be the first minister to resign as a result.

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