Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has vowed to resign on Tuesday and to withdraw his party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), from the Government of National Unity (GNU) and all coalitions with the ANC.
The PA leader issued the ultimatum after Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero apparently failed to reinstate the party’s deputy president, Kenny Kunene, to his position on the mayoral committee.
Kunene stepped aside earlier this year after being linked to the arrest of murder accused Katiso Molefe, but a legal probe commissioned by McKenzie cleared him of wrongdoing.
In a lengthy statement on social media on Friday, McKenzie accused the ANC and EFF of colluding to sideline his party in Johannesburg’s coalition government.
He said the PA had already shown good faith by giving up the Human Settlements portfolio to the IFP, but that the ANC then blocked its right to fill the Roads and Transport post, first refusing Kunene’s return, and later rejecting the appointment of PA newcomer and former DA MP Liam Jacobs.
“The position was given to the PA, not to an individual. We have the right to deploy whoever we deem fit,” McKenzie said, describing the forced withdrawal of Jacobs as a humiliation for the party.
He added that the “final straw” was the City’s failure to provide water to communities in Westbury, Newclare and Corrie, saying residents were left desperate while water trucks were sent elsewhere. McKenzie claims he personally intervened to secure private water tankers for the affected areas.
The PA leader said the ANC had been given seven days to reverse its decision, but with no response, the party would now vacate its positions at local, provincial and national levels.
“We cannot remain at the table when disrespect is on the menu. We opt to leave,” McKenzie declared.
If carried out, the move will make the PA the first party to withdraw from the GNU since its formation 15 months ago, and McKenzie will be the first minister to resign as a result.
