South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to reshuffle the party’s representatives in the Government of National Unity, including Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen. Hill-Lewis asked for Steenhuisen to be demoted to the position of deputy trade minister. The DA, the second-largest party in the coalition government formed in June 2024, is entitled to recommend changes to the cabinet positions allocated to it under the coalition agreement. Steenhuisen led the DA from 2019 until Hill-Lewis succeeded him in April, and has spent his time as agriculture minister grappling with a severe foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that has affected the agricultural sector. Hill-Lewis has proposed Environment Minister Willie Aucamp as Steenhuisen’s replacement, arguing that new leadership is needed to bring the livestock disease crisis under control and strengthen the ministry’s response.
Reuters