CAPE TOWN - DA funds, earmarked for party political work, were allegedly spent on Uber Eats, fancy hotel stays and car rentals.
This is just some of the bombshell claims by former DA Minister Dion George.
He made these and several other allegations in an exclusive interview with eNCA on Thursday.
George began the interview by officially announcing his resignation from the party, before proceeding to air its dirty laundry in public.
According to the former Minister, DA leader John Steenhuisen has been captured by the ANC and other criminal interests. He claims the party’s also been muzzled, alongside having lost its ability to lead South Africa’s interests.
READ| Dion George: Steenhuisen has been captured by the ANC
In his tell-all interview, George held nothing back. Central to his claims is Steenhuisen’s misuse of the party’s credit card.
He says he had to confiscate the credit card issued to Steenhuisen in March last year after he uncovered “serious financial irregularities”.
He adds that the credit card expenses could not be reconciled.
“The only way a full reconciliation could occur, as claimed by the DA Federal Legal Commission (FLC), is by subsequently cooking the books," George says.
George’s claims come barely three days after the DA’s FLC cleared Steenhuisen of misappropriating party funds.
George has, however, dismissed the FLC’s findings. He maintains that the report ignored the clear misuse of party funds.
“The DA’s FLC whitewash of Steenhuisen’s credit card misuse was the final straw for me. The FLC report submitted this week is a reflection of what the party has become under failed leadership," he says.
He’s now called for a full and independent forensic investigation into Steenhuisen’s spending habits using party money.
The DA has since responded to George’s bombshell allegations on eNCA.
READ| George vs DA: Counter-accusations started
Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille says it is unfortunate George resigned from the party before he could answer to a pending disciplinary before the DA’s Federal Legal Commission.
Zille says it would have been preferable for George to go through the DA’s FLC process to test the veracity of the allegations.