DA'S DION GEORGE'S FUTURE HANGS IN BALANCE

DA federal finance chairperson Dion George will be lucky to return to any leadership position after his party’s next federal congress in April. 

The road to that congress, where the party is set to elect its leadership will be bumpy for him as the organisation’s finance boss. 

He made a big and career-ending move when he apparently revoked Steenhuisen’s access to a party-issued credit card due to 'unreconciled personal expenses'.

 He would have been aware of the implications of taking on a leader of his party if these allegations couldn't hold. 

Indeed a DA investigation has cleared Steenhuisen of the allegations against him. It found that  the expenditure on the card had been fully reconciled, that there was no prima facie evidence of misappropriation, and that the limited number of personal expenses had been adequately explained and reimbursed.

This outcome means more than bad news for George’s political future. Chances are that he may find it hard to run for his current position, let alone get reelected.

 How is he going to sit in the meeting with the same person he accused of such serious allegations against him? How are these two leaders going to repair a broken relationship that exposed factionalism within the party?  

In fact, Steenhuisen will find it increasingly challenging to trust a senior party member who accused him of cadre deployment when replacing him as  fisheries, forestry and environment minister.

These are but some of the serious concerns DA members will be asking themselves when they decide who should lead their party for the next term.

 What is clear is that the outcome of the investigation into this credit saga bolsters Steenhuisen’s chances of re-elections. There’s no doubt that George is not in his leadership’s plans. 

If he was, Steenhuisen would be against the decision by George's successor Willie Aucump to have the previous minister investigated by the public protector.

Whatever happens next, this credit-card scandal and the various public protector complaints have hammered the DA image. Party members will be more concerned about that. 

How the DA addresses this may determine whether its participation in the Government of National Unity is shaped by power squabbles.

CAPE TIMES