Former forestry, fisheries and the environment minister Dion George. (@DrDionGeorge/X)
Former minister of environment, forestry and fisheries Dion George has resigned from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and from parliament, following a public fallout with party leader John Steenhuisen.
George announced his resignation in an interview with eNCA, during which he read out a prepared statement setting out his reasons for leaving the party he joined in 1995.
He said he had written to the DA on Thursday to terminate his party membership and confirmed that he had stepped down as the party’s federal chairperson of finance and as a member of parliament.
“The situation has become intolerable. I am being pushed out and it is no longer feasible for me to remain in the party,” George said.
In a statement issued by DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille, the party said it had “noted the resignation of Dr Dion George from the party” and described his decision to resign before appearing before the DA’s federal legal commission (FLC) in an ongoing disciplinary inquiry as “unfortunate”.
“It is unfortunate that Dr George has resigned before answering a pending disciplinary matter before the DA’s federal legal commission,” Zille said.
According to the statement, the pending disciplinary matter involved three sets of allegations, including that staff appointments to George’s ministerial office were conducted in a manner that unjustifiably increased salaries at public expense; that staff in his ministry sought departmental information for use in internal party political matters and that George brought the party into disrepute through his engagement with the media.
Zille said it would have been preferable for George to subject himself to the FLC process to test the veracity of the allegations against him. “The rest of the FLC process will proceed as determined by the DA’s federal executive on Monday,” she said.
George had been a member of the party since 1995 and held a number of senior positions, including serving as the DA’s federal chairperson of finance. His resignation follows a period of heightened tension between George and the party’s leadership.
In November last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa removed George from his position as environment minister following a request from Steenhuisen. At the time, the DA said the request was based on concerns about George’s performance in the role.
George disputed that characterisation and publicly questioned the reasons for his removal from cabinet. Since then, his relationship with the party leadership has deteriorated, with disagreements playing out in public.
No announcement has been made regarding George’s future political plans.