Anger mounting in DA over Steehuisen’s removal as minister

Anger is brewing among some members in the DA over the way the party’s new leader Geordin Hill-Lewis decided to remove John Steehuisen as agriculture minister.

According to reports, the discontent centres on an agreement made between Hill-Lewis and Steenhuisen that the agriculture minister would remain in his position if he didn’t run for another term as DA leader.

It comes after Hill-Lewis wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking for several changes to the Cabinet of the government of national unity (GNU). Among these changes is the replacement of Steenhuisen by Willie Aucamp as minister of agriculture. The former DA leader will now be the deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.

Ramaphosa has not yet confirmed the Cabinet reshuffle.

Anger over Steenhuisen’s demotion

Some DA members are said to be surprised by the move and claim they weren’t consulted on the changes.

A source within the DA told the Sunday Times that Hill-Lewis’s decision had exposed divisions in the party.

“You don’t have to like a person, and you don’t have to agree with [that person’s] politics, but you don’t throw someone under the bus when [that person has] essentially made an agreement in good faith,” the source said.

The source added that the lack of consultation by Hill-Lewis has left some DA members feeling uneasy.

“Nobody was consulted. Geordin made this decision, and then the federal executive [meeting] happened on Wednesday morning, and details were already leaking to the media while discussions were still taking place.”

FMD crisis

DA insiders told The Citizen this week that discussions about redeploying Steenhuisen began shortly after Geordin Hill-Lewis succeeded him as DA leader.

Political analyst Prof Theo Neethling said the move was “pure DA damage control” after the way Steenhuisen has handled the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) crisis.

Neethling said Steenhuisen had alienated many farmers and agricultural organisations.

“What cost him was his insistence on handling the foot-and-mouth disease crisis in a highly state-controlled way,” he said.

Steenhuisen ‘betrayed’ by Hill-Lewis

Despite this, some in the DA feel that Steenhuisen is being treated unfairly.

A source told News24 that Steenhuisen feels “betrayed” and that the party should have treated the matter in the same way it dealt with controversies surrounding former chairperson of the DA federal council, Helen Zille.

“John feels betrayed. Geordin gave him his word that he would remain minister of agriculture. He expected Geordin to back him through the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) crisis like the party backed Helen [Zille] after her colonialism tweets,” a Steenhuisen supporter told News24.

Hill-Lewis, however, denies betraying Steenhuisen and told the Sunday Times that his decision was made in the best interests of the DA and the GNU.

“I think personal relationships always make it an incredibly tough space, and this one particularly so,” he said. “But my loyalty is to the public and to the voters and to this historic course that we have to build a government in [South Africa] that can get our country working. That is what motivates me and inspires me every day, and that is where my higher loyalty is.”