DA spat with Ramaphosa could severely hurt service delivery, warns political analyst

JOHANNESBURG - A political analyst has warned that the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s decision to pull out of the National Dialogue and its refusal to vote in department budgets could severely hurt service delivery.

Siseko Maposa has labelled the move by the political party as irresponsible, saying it is likely to negatively impact the country’s citizens.

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Maposa’s comments follow the DA’s announcement at the weekend not to support budget votes involving ministers accused of corruption.

The political analyst has warned that the political standoff between the DA and President Cyril Ramaphosa could deepen divisions in the Government of National Unity (GNU) and delay essential government functions.

"Their tactics ignore what South Africans actually care about, which is economic growth, transformation and governance that works. Threatening to block government budget over accusations and not proven failures, which have been tested in the courts of law, hurts service delivery and invites ANC [African National Congress] retaliation."

Last week, Ramaphosa fired Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Andrew Whitfield over an unapproved international trip.

The DA reacted on Thursday by giving Ramaphosa a 48-hour ultimatum to fire corruption-accused ministers.

Ramaphosa’s inaction led to the DA threatening a motion of no confidence in the president, among other things.