Premier Alan Winde.
Image: Supplied
With Premier Alan Winde and Minister Dean Macpherson landing in hot water for their international travel trips, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has now found itself on the receiving end of criticism that it used to dish out.
Winde has been facing calls for him to “resign with immediate effect” after the Provincial Legislature’s Conduct Committee's findings revealed that he breached the Code of Conduct by failing to disclose sponsored foreign travel to the United States.
Caucus in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature said the committee confirmed that Winde had violated Paragraphs 12(9) and 3(7) of the Code by not declaring the sponsored trip in the Register of Members’ Interests.
The ANC's Khalid Sayed, the leader of the opposition in the Western Cape, described the outcome as "a victory for ANC-led public accountability and oversight in the provincial government and the provincial legislature".
Sayed said the finding highlighted deeper governance problems under the DA administration.
“The premier’s double standards and delinquency once again demonstrates his lack of respect for the institutions of our democracy and that he is reluctantly subjecting himself to the scrutiny and oversight of the provincial legislature and its committees. The premier is unfit to hold office.
“The ANC Caucus reaffirms its calls that the premier must do the honourable thing and resign with immediate effect,” Sayed said.
ActionSA has also called on Macpherson, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, to repay R839,000 in taxpayer money allegedly splurged on a trip to Brazil accompanied by his partner, despite reportedly being given legal guidance advising against the partner’s travel.
“This latest scandal comes on the back of the Minister already racking up R3.2 million in travel expenses (as of June 2025), part of a staggering R448 million spent on travel by the broader GNU.
“At a time when South Africans are battling rising costs, collapsing infrastructure and unreliable service delivery, this level of excess is indefensible,” ActionSA Member of Parliament, Malebo Kobe, said.
In June of last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa also removed Andrew Whitfield from the position of Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition because he undertook an international visit without the president's permission.
Professor Dirk Kotzé from the University of South Africa agreed with the point that the DA is now finding itself on the receiving end of criticism they previously dispensed, but that these examples show that they need to ensure they tighten their understanding of the rules and regulations.
“The moment parties are in government, they start running the risk that mistakes or oversights or whatever you want to call it will be made by some of their members.
“I think they have to make sure about the manner in which they deal with issues like this and follow the different regulations or ministerial handbooks,” Kotzé said.
Professor Bheki Mngomezulu from Nelson Mandela University said that while the travel scandals do not paint a good look for the party, the DA is no longer the opposition and is part of the multi-party coalition.
“While the ANC in the Western Cape is calling for Alan Winde to resign, I don't think that it will work because the ANC is a political party, and the DA is a political party, and if they feel aggrieved by what Alan Winde is doing, they have proper channels that they can follow.
“Which means that the ANC, as an organisation, and the DA as an organisation, will have to sit down and discuss this issue, see if indeed it doesn't expose South Africa, and create an impression that there is no unity amongst the leaders of this country,” Mngomezulu said.
“I think that there is party politics on the one hand, but there is also government politics on the other. So the latter takes precedent, because these political parties are also supposed to get marching orders from the government,” Mngomezulu said.
“There is more confusion as to whether the ANC is still the government party or whether the DA is still the opposition party. They don't seem to find an answer to that, when it's clear that that is learning the case.
“They are all part of the multi-party coalition government.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za