DA chickens out of withdrawing from the GNU

Steenhuisen says Ramaphosa concocted a reason to remove Whitfield, who had travelled to the US without the President's authorization.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says the party is withdrawing from the National Dialogue announced recently by South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa with immediate effect amid disagreement over the dismissal of a DA deputy minister. However, the party has also announced that it would not be leaving the Government of National Unity (GNU) to avoid what it terms a possible "coalition of chaos."

The DA leader was addressing the media in Cape Town after a meeting of the party's Federal Council.

Steenhuisen says Ramaphosa concocted a reason to remove Whitfield, who had travelled to the US without the President's authorization.

Steenhuisen had earlier said Ramaphosa had 48 hours to fire what he called compromised ministers such as Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane and Human Settlements Minister, Thembi Simelane.

Steenhuisen says Ramaphosa has not abided by the Government of National Unity's Statement of Intent.