Minister Dion George’s US citizenship was disclosed to the State Security Agency and is not the reason for his potential removal.
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Dion George is reportedly on his way out of the portfolio.
The move is believed to be due to underperformance, and not a matter of the passports used by George.
George recently confirmed that the he was a dual United States (US) citizen and that he used his US passport for official travel purposes.
George is currently in Brazil for the United Nations’ climate gathering but relayed his dual status via a response to written parliamentary question.
The minster confirmed he was both a citizen of the South Africa and the US and that his status had been disclosed to the State Security Agency.
“The minster has travelled in his official capacity to the United States of America, where he holds citizenship, to attend the United Nations General Assembly as part of the delegation invited by the President,” his office stated.
“For this engagement, he used his United States of America passport as required by protocol and with the consent and approval of the President.”
Ministerial position under threat
The issue of replacing George has reportedly been on the cards for some time and was spoken about at the government of national unity (GNU) leaders retreat last week.
George was this week offered the deputy minister of trade and industry position vacated by Andrew Whitfield, but is said to have declined
Neither Steenhuisen or George have spoken publicly about the matter, but an insider close to party’s federal executive revealed the motivations behind the move.
“He just doesn’t understand that to be a minister you have to work, and be seen to be working. He doesn’t have any connection with the relevant stakeholders and his reports to the party are underwhelming,” an insider told the Sunday Times.
The Presidency confirmed that the matter was under consideration.
“The president and the minister have been in discussion. However, we will not engage in ongoing public commentary on the matter,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told News24.
“When the president is ready to make an announcement, everybody will know what has been decided,” he added.
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