President Cyril Ramaphosa has fired deputy minister of trade, industry & competition Andrew Whitfield from his position, signalling a targeted move rather than a sweeping overhaul of the executive.
Without providing reasons, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president fired Whitfield in terms of section 93 (1) of the constitution.
Business Day, however, understands that Whitfield was fired following his recent unauthorised trips to the US, alongside DA MP Emma Powell, where the pair met with senior US government officials to discuss US and SA relations.
At the time, the DA said Whitfield, who is also the DA leader in the Eastern Cape, undertook the week-long visit in his capacity as a party leader and not on behalf of the SA government.
The DA delegation’s working visit comes amid the SA government’s push to normalise relations with the Trump administration, which has taken an antagonistic view of SA and its multibillion-rand trade relationship.
According to a DA federal executive source, DA leader John Steenhuisen was informed of Whitfield’s imminent firing following the unauthorised working visits.
“The president has thanked the former deputy minister for the time he served in the role. However, the president has not indicated any intention to conduct a wholesale cabinet reshuffle,” Magwenya said.
The last mini-reshuffle of the cabinet was in December when Thembi Simelane swapped departments with human settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi after coming under fire for a R575,000 loan she received through Gundo Wealth Solutions during her earlier tenure as mayor of Polokwane. Simelane was previously the justice minister.
The move by Ramaphosa is expected to cause rifts between the two largest parties within the GNU.
The DA, with six ministerial positions within the GNU, has previously pushed for Ramaphosa to act against Simelane and deputy president Paul Mashatile.
Whitfield was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
“I have convened an urgent meeting of the DA’s federal executive today, following the actions of President Cyril Ramaphosa around the composition of the national executive of the government of national unity (GNU),” DA federal council chair Helen Zille confirmed.
Ramaphosa’s move falls short of a widely expected cabinet reshuffle following mounting pressure from within the governing coalition to dismiss higher education & training minister Nobuhle Nkabane.
Nkabane recently apologised for falsely implicating advocate Terry Motau in her controversial appointments to the boards of the R18bn sector education & training authorities (Setas).
Nkabane has also been reported by DA MP Karabo Khakhau to parliament’s ethics committee for allegedly lying under oath when questioned by the portfolio committee on higher education regarding the board appointments.
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