DA RESHUFFLE: Foot and mouth disease bungle costs Steenhuisen his Cabinet post

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa for a massive DA executive shake-up which sees John Steenhuisen stripped of his agricultural portfolio.

John Steenhuisen is being demoted from his position of agriculture minister.

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove Steenhuisen from the Cabinet, demoting him to deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.

Alexandra Abrahams, the current DA deputy minister in the trade and industry portfolio, will become deputy minister of electricity.

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Willie Aucamp will succeed Steenhuisen as agriculture minister, while Hill-Lewis has asked Ramaphosa to appoint Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier, to the Cabinet to Aucamp’s old portfolio.

Hill-Lewis announced these changes and others to the DA’s representation in the executive in a statement on Wednesday morning, 17 June.

“Following a careful assessment of the DA’s team in the Government of National Unity, I have written to President Ramaphosa setting out several changes to the Democratic Alliance’s representation in the national executive.

“It is my judgement that the renewed team announced today will strengthen the DA’s contribution to government and give better effect to the mandate received from 3.5 million voters in the 2024 elections,” Hill-Lewis said.

Steenhuisen’s removal from the Cabinet comes after months of mounting criticism for his handling of South Africa’s foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease outbreak by farmers and members of the broader agricultural sector.

In May, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled against Steenhuisen on the private rollout of FMD disease vaccines by farmers and veterinarians. The order, granted in favour of Sakeliga, Suider-Afrika Agri Inisiatief (Saai) and Free State Agriculture, confirmed that farmers may procure and administer FMD disease vaccines without state permission.

Earlier this month, Le Roux forwarded an email containing a formal letter from a collective of farmers asking for engagement with the department’s FMD vaccination strategy to department staffers, referring to it as “some amusement”.

It later emerged that Le Roux allegedly also told the CEO of Free State Agriculture at a social event at Nampo in May, that she would “f*** [them] up in court”, according to Rapport. The DA’s constituency is strongly represented by farmers. Such incidents could make the DA vulnerable ahead of the elections to the Freedom Front Plus.

On Wednesday, Hill-Lewis said Aucamp’s “immediate mandate” is to resolve the