Johannesburg – The DA in Gauteng has appealed to the EFF to support its upcoming motion of no confidence against Premier Panyaza Lesufi, citing concerns over his performance, including mismanagement of Gauteng Traffic Wardens, bloated budgets, and mishandling of the Tembisa Hospital corruption case.
The EFF, however, has refused to engage unless the DA retracts past statements portraying the EFF as a political enemy and issues a public apology.
EFF Gauteng leader Philip Makwala stressed that political cooperation must be based on mutual respect.
“In subsequent pronouncements—including during a high-level meeting at the White House in the United States—your party reiterated that its central role in the GNU is to keep the EFF out of government.
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The EFF Gauteng, through the Caucus Leader in the Legislature, Fighter Phillip Makwala, has responded to the Solly Msimanga and the Democratic Alliance(DA), on their invitation to discuss and support their Motion of No Confidence Against Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
— EFF Gauteng (@EFFGautengProv) October 27, 2025
“These statements have consistently defined the EFF as your party’s public enemy number one, while portraying the ANC as a pliant partner with whom you can cooperate,” the party said in a statement.
“It is therefore curious that, despite this posture, you now seek our cooperation to vote your trusted partners out of power in Gauteng.
“The EFF believes that political engagement must be grounded in mutual respect and good faith. For as long as your public pronouncements about the EFF remain in effect, the EFF has no business engaging with your organisation in whatever way, shape or form,” the party said in a statement.
Letter of the DA to the EFF Gauteng Caucus in the Provincial Legislature. pic.twitter.com/TM5ZCzbeV8
— EFF Gauteng (@EFFGautengProv) October 27, 2025
“If the DA genuinely wishes to demonstrate good faith, it must publicly retract these inflammatory statements and issue a clear apology.”
DA chief whip Mike Moriarty urged the EFF to vote based on Lesufi’s record rather than party politics.
“The motion of no confidence for us is not just about numbers, but it’s about: is Lesufi fit for office?… We have to ask: if we look at the record, is Lesufi fit for office? And quite frankly, that should be the EFF’s consideration,” The Citizen quoted Moriarty as saying.
The motion’s discussion is expected at a programming meeting on Thursday, with mixed responses from other parties: the MK party will reject it, the ACDP is undecided, and ActionSA may support it if it has a chance of success.
The ANC is lobbying parties to oppose the motion.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
