In brief
In a surprising move, DA leader Geordin Hill‑Lewis has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove his predecessor, John Steenhuisen, from the agriculture portfolio as part of a cabinet reshuffle. The request follows criticism over Steenhuisen’s handling of the recent foot‑and‑mouth disease outbreak that devastated livestock and a financial scandal that prompted his departure from party leadership. Hill‑Lewis also proposed replacing several other DA ministers such as the environment minister, deputy electricity minister, deputy higher‑education minister and deputy water minister. Ramaphosa has yet to comment, but the request is unlikely to be dismissed given the DA’s coalition obligations with the ANC after the 2024 elections. The reshuffle reflects pressure to improve governance and address farmer grievances while keeping the coalition stable.
Geordin Hill‑Lewis, the newly installed leader of South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA), has formally asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack his predecessor, John Steenhuisen, from the cabinet post of agriculture minister.
The request comes as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle back‑firing after the 2024 general election, when the DA secured six ministerial slots in a coalition with the ruling African National Congress (ANC). It is widely understood that the move is linked to Steenhuisen’s handling of the foot‑and‑mouth disease outbreak that struck the country’s livestock industry and the financial scandal that forced him to abandon a campaign for a third deputy leadership term.
Hill‑Lewis has identified future ministerial changes, prioritising a new deputy minister for trade and industry and the replacement of Steenhuisen with Willie Aucamp, who would take the agriculture portfolio with a mandate to resolve the legal disputes around the disease outbreak.
The DA’s former chair, John Steenhuisen, was the party’s parliamentary leader in 2014 and became its national leader under Mmusi Maimane in 2019, before taking the helm of the DA during the party’s historic coalition partnership with the ANC. He stepped down as party chief amid criticism over his cabinet performance and a financial expenditure scandal.
Hill‑Lewis’s revelations include a list of reshuffle proposals: David Maynier to be appointed environment minister, Alexandra Abrahams to become deputy electricity and energy minister, Yusuf Cassim to take the deputy higher‑education post, and Jack Bloom as deputy water and sanitation minister.
In an earlier statement when first becoming party primār, Hill‑Lewis promised to ‘review the performance’ of DA‑appointed ministers, saying any needed change would be executed. The subsequent quick reshuffle has surprised observers, although it is consistent with Hill‑Lewis’s commitment to reform.
President Ramaphosa’s reaction to the request is pending; however, given the coalition’s reliance on the DA’s support, the proposal may be accepted, reshaping the cabinet’s power structure.
