Glynnis Breytenbach at the DA’s Federal Congress at the Gallagher Convention Centre on 12 April 2026. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) In a fresh bid to deal with persistent leaks, the DA has voted in favour of an amendment aimed at tightening party discipline by dealing with members leaking confidential information. The DA has been rocked by a leadership upset which saw John Steenhuisen leave earlier than planned because of alleged ethical lapses amid allegations of financial malfeasance and misuse of a party credit card.
The party also resolved that all members will sign a beefed-up ethics charter which includes an annual integrity and accountability pledge, the disclosure of assets, gifts and financial interests, and lifestyle audits.
Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines of its congress currently under way at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach, who proposed the motion before more than 2,000 delegates, said the crackdown was driven by persistent leaks.
“The Democratic Alliance has a federal constitution, and much like the country’s Constitution, [it] is a living document. It must evolve with the times, keep up with new developments. It is a necessary for political parties to be able to have closed meetings where members can speak freely, say whatever they want, without any fear that whatever they say is going to end up in the media,” she said.
/file/attachments/orphans/WFD_9033_338771.jpg "Delegates hold up voting cards during the DA’s Federal Congress 2026 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, taking part in key decisions on leadership and policy. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
Although she would not admit outright that there had been an increase of this in the party, Breytenbach admitted it was a loophole in the party.
“Every congress we find a new loophole and we try to tighten it up,” she said.
The amendment to the party’s constitution that seeks to restrict party leaks comes after a series of internal feuds in the DA made it into the media. The chain of events began with outgoing Steenhuisen’s personal finances and his subsequent decision to remove Dion George as environment minister.
Daily Maverick’s Rebecca Davis reported in November 2025 that Steenhuisen had suffered a default judgment of R150,000 for credit card debt. The fact that he had used the DA credit card for personal expenses led to George, as then DA federal finance chair, to revoke the card.
(The DA’s Federal Legal Commission found later that Steenhuisen had done nothing wrong.)
Amid the allegations surrounding Steenhuisen’s financial troubles, the outgoing DA leader made the contentious decision to axe George, replacing him with DA MP Willie Aucamp.
George publicly resigned from the DA in January 2026. His resignation letter, which he read live on national TV, contained a number of incendiary allegations about the DA leadership and Steenhuisen in particular.
Breytenbach believes the issue of leaks is not unique to the DA. “The confidentiality of closed meetings is a problem, it has always been a problem, it is a problem for every political party.
“If a meeting is a closed meeting, that’s what it is. No one is entitled to discuss what happened at the meeting. There is nothing funny about it. Every company has such meetings, every political party has such meetings. They are necessary,” she said.
Breytenbach was unfazed by concerns raised by some delegates about the proposal, saying that if they are unhappy they could simply leave the party.
“A political party is a contract, you join a political party and you live by its rules. If you don’t like the rules, you are free to leave,” she added.
Noko Masipa, a member of the Western Cape Parliament, said the resolution was an attempt to create a sense of discipline because there are matters in a party that are dealt with in confidentiality.
Much like Breytenbach, Masipa maintained that closed meetings must be treated as such. About the concern raised by some delegates that the move is an attempt to clamp down on whistleblowers, he had a different view:
“We are not really stopping people from airing opinions about issues that they believe are important for the public.”
He said it is important that, in having freedom, you also have responsibility for how you exercise your freedom, suggesting there was a need for punitive measures for members who leak information.
“There must be punitive measures if people are not abiding by the rules that have been set out,” he said.
On the dissatisfaction expressed by some members, Masipa was rather frank: “Let us be honest, we are not going to satisfy everybody.”
‘Termination of party membership’
On Saturday, the DA also approved an amendment that would make the termination of party membership easier. This amendment too was proposed by Breytenbach and seconded by National Assembly House chairperson Werner Horn.
“The current [clause] only makes provisions for very specific grounds of incapacity (poor performance and/or ill-health), while there are far more variations on which a person can be found to be incapable of fulfilling their duties,” Breytenbach said.
“By deleting the limiting provisions in this clause, the party will be able to govern the nature of different instances of incapacity by means of regulation, which will be a more dynamic process with greater reactivity and adaptability to changes in legal best practice,” she continued.
/file/attachments/orphans/6I1A8645_194527.jpg "John Steenhuisen addresses delegates at the DA’s Federal Congress in Midrand. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)")
The original clause stated: “All Party members, including public representatives, submit to the right of the Party to terminate their membership, to remove them from office in any executive or legislative sphere of government or office within the Party, or to be moved to a position deemed to be suitable by the Party, on the grounds of incapacity owing to poor performance and/or ill health, which includes but is not limited to incompetence and/or inefficiency and/or incapability, but only in terms of processes and procedures prescribed by the Federal Council.”
The revised clause reads: “All Party members, including public representatives, submit to the right of the Party, to terminate their membership, to remove them from office in any executive or legislative sphere of government or office within the Party, or to be moved to a position deemed to be suitable by the Party, on the grounds of incapacity... in terms of processes and procedures prescribed by the Federal Council.”
Stick to the script
The DA has also supported an amendment titled “Cessation of Membership” which refers to public representatives going off script when making DA speeches.
“There have been instances where DA councillors have gone entirely off script, making speeches in contradiction to the official decision of the caucus. This has caused great embarrassment and cannot be dealt with in terms of [Clause] 3.5.1.13. These occurrences must be avoided at all costs,” read Breytenbach’s motivation for the amendment.
Ethical Governance Charter
While the DA is tightening the screws on confidential leaks and membership, it has, at the same time, approved a new resolution affirming the DA’s commitment to “clean, transparent and accountable governance” in all spheres of government.
The DA’s new Ethical Governance Charter establishes “binding ethical principles and operational standards” to ensure that every DA public representative serves with integrity and competence. This includes signing an annual integrity and accountability pledge, the disclosure of assets, gifts and financial interests, and lifestyle audits. This is in addition to measures in law to which all public representatives such as MPs must sign up. DM