DA 'confident of success' in challenging Gigaba, Dlamini reappointments
22 October 2018
The Democratic Alliance says it is confident it will succeed in its legal case challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa's reappointment of Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba and Minister in the Presidency Bathabile Dlamini.
"We will be lodging papers tomorrow [Monday] to review the President’s decision to appoint and maintain Dlamini and Gigaba in his Cabinet," DA leader Mmusi Maimane said following a two-day sitting of the party’s last Federal Council sitting of 2018.
Gigaba and Dlamini survived Ramaphosa's first Cabinet reshuffle on February 26 – 11 days after he had been sworn in as president.
Maimane said it was the DA’s view that Ramaphosa's decision to reappoint Gigaba and Dlamini was irrational and unconstitutional.
"All exercising of executive power must be in line with the Constitution, it is our view that these appointments were not in accordance with the provisions of section 91 of the Constitution and we are confident that we will succeed in our legal case."
Maimane wrote to Ramaphosa to ask him to fire Dlamini and Gigaba from his Cabinet.
In his letter, Maimane referred to the High Court's finding in 2017, in relation to former president Jacob Zuma's firing of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, that constitutional decisions must be rational, including the appointment of ministers.
Last month, the Constitutional Court found that Dlamini had tried to mislead the court in the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) debacle.
In December 2017, the North Gauteng High court found that Gigaba had "deliberately told untruths under oath" in a court battle launched by Fireblade Aviation against the department of home affairs.
Nelson Mandela Bay
Meanwhile, Maimane also spoke about the EFF-ANC coalition in Nelson Mandela Bay.
He said the ANC and EFF "coalesced to unseat the coalition government that had begun to make tangible differences in the lives of the people who live in that metro".
He also said the coalition formed by the two parties was the "biggest threat".
"These political parties have given up on building a non-racial country as was envisioned by Nelson Mandela.
"They seek to divide us on the basis of race in an effort to create a distraction from their failing governments or looting sprees.
"They defied the will of the people and through back-door deals, removed a government that was doing what it was elected to do which is to serve," Maimane added.
VBS saga, Khayelitsha fire
Other issues discussed include the VBS Mutual Bank debacle, labelling the looting of almost R2bn by politically connected politicians as an "unconscionable crime against the poor".
"The heinous heist at VBS Mutual Bank is yet another reminder of the coalition of corruption formed by the ANC and the EFF," Maimane said.
It was crucial that the Hawks investigate transactions properly.
He also said it was crucial that President Ramaphosa answer his urgent oral question in the National Assembly next month on whether he knew about the looting.
The DA also shared in the grief of residents following a devastating Khayelitsha blaze that killed one and left 1300 homeless.
The Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town have been deployed along with emergency services to assist people following the fire.
The party was also in the process of ratifying its policy ahead of next year's elections, including a seven-point plan to offer jobs, safety and security.
