ActionSA opens door to Dion George as DA feud spills into public view

ActionSA says the door is open for former Democratic Alliance (DA) member and minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Dr Dion George to join the party, but George says he has not yet decided on his political future after dumping the blue party.

George has dismissed allegations that he misused public funds, exploited departmental information for party-political purposes and brought the DA into disrepute. 

He said his lawyers are engaging with the party over the matter.

Speaking to IOL News, George said he has not joined another political party since quitting the DA earlier this month.

“I have not joined another political party. I’ve not given that much thought yet. My legal team is currently engaging with the DA,” he said.

ActionSA, led by Herman Mashaba, confirmed that the door is open to welcome new members, including George.

“ActionSA remains open to any South African who believes in our mission to fix South Africa, and our voluntary membership is open to all who are willing to play their part in genuinely fighting for a better country,” said ActionSA national spokesperson Matthew George told IOL News.

“ActionSA does not engage in the factional battles of other political parties. However, the serious allegations made by Dion George - that the DA and its leadership have been captured by criminal interests - warrant investigation by the appropriate authorities,” he added.

Independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego said George’s next move would determine the political impact.

“If he lands with Mashaba, it might boost Mashaba a little, but not too much, because George is one of the people Mashaba, Mmusi Maimane and Mbali Ntuli wanted to stay in the DA,” Mashego said.

Mashaba and Maimane both left the DA in 2019 and later formed their own political parties. 

Ntuli resigned from the DA in 2022 after 15 years, having served as the party’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial campaigns director.

Maimane’s Build One South Africa (BOSA) has since merged with GOOD and partnered with Rise Mzansi. 

The alliance will contest the 2026 local government elections under a new centrist banner, Unite for Change.

Mashego said the DA was unlikely to expand its support base.

“I don’t think the DA is going to grow beyond where it is now, especially given the internal shenanigans and the lack of a clear strategy to attract black voters,” he said, adding criticism of senior party leadership.

His resignation has sent shockwaves through the DA, exposing growing internal strain. 

George, who has been a DA member since 1995, announced his departure earlier this month following a bitter and public fallout with party leader John Steenhuisen.

The dispute has reignited questions about the DA’s internal discipline and its ability to manage dissent at senior levels.

George also stepped down as the DA’s federal chairperson of finance, saying he was forced out after being removed from Cabinet in November 2025. 

He said his political fate was sealed when the party asked for his dismissal as minister.

He was replaced by DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp, a move George says marked the beginning of a coordinated effort to sideline him. George said he learned of his removal through the media while attending COP30 in Brazil.

George accused DA leadership, under Steenhuisen, of being “captured” by the ANC and criminal interests. 

He alleged a smear campaign was launched to justify his removal and claimed the party had lost its backbone in the Government of National Unity by supporting ANC budgets and policies.

He also called for an independent forensic investigation into the DA’s credit card usage and dismissed the findings of the party’s Federal Legal Commission (FLC) as a “whitewash”.

DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille said George resigned before responding to allegations of salary abuse, political interference and bringing the party into disrepute.

“It is unfortunate that Dr George has resigned before answering a pending disciplinary matter before the DA’s Federal Legal Commission,” Zille said. 

She confirmed the FLC process would continue and wished George well.

However, George’s lawyers, Gittins Attorneys Inc, rejected Zille’s claims, saying their client had never been formally charged.

“Our client has never been formally charged with the allegation that staff appointments in his ministerial office were done in a way that unjustifiably raised salaries at public expense,” the firm said, adding that salaries are gazetted and implemented by law.

The lawyers also denied allegations that George or his staff used departmental information for internal party-political purposes, describing the claims as new and never formally put to their client.

They said George was not in the country when he was removed and when Aucamp was appointed, and that his staff were also overseas at the time.

Gittins Attorneys said George had never been formally charged with bringing the party into disrepute and that no disciplinary or investigatory process had been initiated in line with the DA’s own rules or principles of natural justice.

The firm accused the DA of pursuing unsubstantiated allegations without formal notice, documentation or an opportunity for George to respond. 

It also questioned a confidential report that cleared Steenhuisen of abusing party credit cards, describing the matter as serious and unresolved.

George’s resignation from Parliament and the DA, the lawyers said, was a principled decision to remove political distractions and did not amount to an admission of wrongdoing.

“His resignation does not extinguish his right to accountability, truth and the restoration of his reputation,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, George said engagements between his legal team and the DA are still ongoing.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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