JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance is grappling with fighting between senior national leaders, months before its elective congress.
READ: DA leader John Steenhuisen and Dion George to face party probe
The DA is not taking interviews about the spat involving its federal leader, John Steenhuisen, and finance chairperson, Dion George.
The DA’s internal divisions burst into the open in November when John Steenhuisen instructed that Dion George be removed as Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
Days later, George responded by cancelling an official DA credit card issued to Steenhuisen.
He alleged the leader had misused funds.
Steenhuisen said, at a rally, “Now colleagues, there has been a pack of lies in the media recently, both about me and our party. Lies have short legs. And I’m telling you that when the truth comes out, those same people that have been spreading lies and misinformation are going to have a day of reckoning.”
The factional battle intensified, drawing in former party spokesperson Willie Aucamp, a Steenhuisen ally who replaced George in the Cabinet.
Weeks into his new office, Aucamp lodged a formal complaint with the Public Protector against George, his former adviser Shelton Mollentze, and personal assistant Traverse le Goff.
Political analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela said, “Now that the DA is part of government, contestations naturally are going to be very ugly, more uglier than they would have been had the party not been in power because now, there’s something to fight for: public office."
"The fight between Willie Aucump and Dion George, with John Steenhuisen in the middle of all of that, deciding who goes to cabinet, actually demonstrates to you that, this is a fight also about public office.”
Aucamp accused George and the former staff members of launching a politically motivated investigation that he says falsely linked him to the lion breeding industry.
George, in turn, asked the Public Protector to probe Aucamp for allegedly failing to disclose commercial interests and conflicts of interest.
On Monday, the DA’s Federal Executive adopted a preliminary report clearing Steenhuisen of financial wrongdoing, while instructing both him and George to stop their public exchanges.
Political analyst André Duvenhage said, “We need to give credit to the Democratic Alliance for following due process and protocol through their legal commission, coming up with an answer, this is very critical, because we’re about two months away from their elective conference.”
Steenhuisen and George are not entirely off the hook, as the party is investigating whether their conduct brought the DA into disrepute.
Mkhakubela said, “Well, I would imagine it’s a concern for both Dion and Steenhuisen, but more so for John Steenhuisen because he looks to retain the party leadership of the party leadership in the next conference of the party. And you could see that the allegations that he misused the party credit card harmed him a lot.”
Nominations for the DA’s leadership contest are expected to open soon, with the party’s elective congress scheduled for April.