ANALYSIS: DA reshuffle — Hill-Lewis stamps his authority on the party

Geordin Hill-Lewis’s Cabinet reshuffle signals a bold new direction for the DA, elevating fresh faces while controversially demoting his predecessor, John Steenhuisen, amid political pressures.

New party leaders frequently alter inherited Cabinet lineups, but immediately demoting a predecessor is an unusual step.

In the months before Daily Maverick’s Rebecca Davis revealed that the DA’s Federal Council finance head, Dion George, had flagged the party’s then leader, John Steenhuisen, for using a DA credit card for personal expenses, Geordin Hill-Lewis made it clear he would not contest for the position of DA leader against Steenhuisen.

The public perception was that they were friends, which sharpens the new DA leader’s decision to move Steenhuisen from agriculture minister to deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.

The agricultural community is an important constituency for the DA, which faces fierce competition from the Freedom Front Plus for the rural farming vote. President Cyril Ramaphosa knew this when he offered Steenhuisen the post; it was a gift to the DA against its major political threat.

Also, the DA’s main selling point to voters is good governance and administration, and the stream of complaints from farmers about Steenhuisen’s management of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak might well have been too much for Hill-Lewis to accept.

But the real last straw was probably the behaviour of Steenhuisen’s chief of staff, Jana le Roux.

According to Rapport, Le Roux swore at Free State Agriculture CEO Gernie Botha during a social event. To make matters worse, the event was hosted by a journalist (the legendary Farmers Weekly editor Chris Burgess), making it unlikely this would be kept quiet.

This was after she had forwarded an email from another important actor in the FMD outbreak to staff in the department for “your general amusement”.

Given Steenhuisen’s publicly embarrassing and protracted appointment of the right-wing figure Roman Cabanac, Hill-Lewis’s move suggests a lack of confidence in his predecessor’s judgement.

If administrative appointments are indeed the fault line, it highlights a striking parallel with the ANC, where chief-of-staff selections have triggered ministerial downfalls. Most recently, former social development minister Sisisi Tolashe’s appointment of an unqualified chief of staff ultimately contributed to her axing.

While being demoted from a full Cabinet post is a public humiliation for Steenhuisen, his new role offers a critical strategic opportunity. As the new deputy minister of trade, industry