Patriotic Alliance will defend Ramaphosa if DA brings no-confidence motion, says Kenny Kunene
President of the Patriotic Alliance, Gayton McKenzie who is also Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, with his deputy, Kenny Kunene who is also Transport MMC in the City of Johannesburg.
Image: Ian Landsberg
Deputy president of the Patriotic Alliance, Kenny Kunene, has scoffed at threats by the Democratic Alliance (DA) against President Cyril Ramaphosa as the cracks in the Government of National Unity continue to grow.
Over the weekend, IOL reported that despite the growing tensions, the DA has decided to remain part of the GNU despite ongoing tensions with Ramaphosa regarding the recent dismissal of one of its deputy ministers.
On Sunday, Kunene said Ramaphosa had acted within his powers when he dismissed deputy minister of trade, industry and competition, Andrew Whitfield, who recently travelled to the United States without the president’s permission.
“I want to make it categorically clear that the DA does not hold any cards whatsoever. As the Patriotic Alliance, we will defend the president. We will make sure that we mobilise to ensure that this motion of no confidence against the president must not succeed,” Kunene told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
“The Democratic Alliance has the propensity to want to be in the media space by bringing motions of no confidence. In Joburg, they sponsored a motion of no confidence against the mayor, knowing exactly that they do not have the numbers. Now they want to do the same with President Ramaphosa.”
Kunene said the DA’s threat of a motion of confidence “must be condemned in the strongest terms”.
The Patriotic Alliance believes Whitfield undermined the president, and must be punished.
On Sunday, IOL reported that Democratic Alliance is threatening to bring forth a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa. The party is calling out what it describes as Ramaphosa's double standards and his failure to deal with corrupt Cabinet ministers.
This came after DA leader John Steenhuisen announced on Saturday the party’s immediate withdrawal from national dialogue of the Government of National Unity, citing a breakdown in trust and accusing Ramaphosa of shielding corruption-accused African National Congress (ANC) ministers.
Steenhuisen criticised Ramaphosa for allegedly breaching the GNU’s founding Statement of Intent and for what he called a pattern of “arrogance, disrespect and double standards” by the ANC in its handling of coalition politics.
“Until [President Ramaphosa] replaces words with action against corruption within his own ranks, the DA sees no further point in wasting our breath in endless talk shops with the ANC,” said Steenhuisen.
“Effective immediately, the DA will have no further part in this process.”
The dialogue, which is set to start in August, aims to set a policy direction for the GNU.
The DA joined the GNU following the 2024 general elections, in which the ANC lost its outright majority for the first time since 1994. The coalition, seen by many as a historic opportunity to usher in a new era of multiparty governance, has since shown signs of severe strain.
According to Steenhuisen, Ramaphosa unilaterally appointed a “bloated” executive and pushed through controversial legislation without consulting GNU partners. He further accused Ramaphosa of sidelining the DA in key decisions and failing to act on corruption allegations against senior ANC figures.
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