Steenhuisen’s ministerial future could hinge on new DA leader

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By not making himself available for a second term as leader of the DA, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen will now have to count on the goodwill of whomever succeeds him as party leader to hang on to the agriculture ministry.

Dr Theo Venter, political commentator, told Farmer’s Weekly that the decision over which DA member is appointed as a minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU) lies with the DA party leadership.

“After April, once the DA has elected a new leader, Steenhuisen’s position – and likely those of all DA members in Cabinet – will be reconsidered,” he added.

“The DA has a number of Cabinet portfolios, and it is up to the party leadership to decide who occupies which position. But Steenhuisen’s position as Minister of Agriculture will remain unchanged until at least the end of April.”

According to Venter, this will leave the agriculture sector in a holding pattern until April, adding that it would be a pity if Steenhuisen were to be replaced at this stage of his tenure.

“Steenhuisen inherited the foot-and-mouth disease [FMD] epidemic at its very worst. It was already raging when he became minister, and it has now reached COVID-19 status.

“We all remember how unpopular Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A minister in such a position has an incredibly thankless task, and this definitely overshadows many of Steenhuisen’s achievements. It would be a pity if he were to lose his cabinet position now,” Venter said.

He explained that tension around Steenhuisen’s position in the DA has been rising ever since the replacement of DA Minister of Environmental Affairs Dr Dion George with Willie Aucamp in November 2024, which led George to claim that Aucamp was aligned with canned hunting interests.

George, who was the DA’s federal finance chairperson until his resignation from the party last month, also publicly alleged that Steenhuisen had abused his DA credit card for meal purchases, which prompted an internal party investigation into both Steenhuisen and George.

Venter believes this decision by the party’s federal council may have left Steenhuisen with no choice but to withdraw from the leadership race.

“The agriculture sector likely expected [Steenhuisen] to accomplish much more much faster, but if you are familiar with the civil service, you’ll know that nothing in government happens quickly.

“Steenhuisen inherited staff who cannot simply be fired because they are not ideologically aligned with him or because they are not inclined to develop a good working relationship with him,” Venter added.

Alienating behaviour

Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Francois Wilken, president of Free State Agriculture (FSA), said in an interview it was a concern for many in primary agriculture that Steenhuisen is both the DA leader and minister of agriculture.

“I’m a farmer, and I want a minister of agriculture, not a political leader who occupies two chairs,” he added.

Wilken also expressed his disappointment with Steenhuisen’s recent vehement reaction to a joint letter by FSA, the Southern African Agri Initiative, and TLU SA addressed to the minister, which stated that the three organisations couldn’t find any obstacles in the legislation against farmers privately procuring vaccines against FMD, and that they would take legal action if an answer wasn’t forthcoming.

“We didn’t say we would take his department to court; we said if he didn’t answer our question about whether the legislation effectively allowed private vaccine procurement, we would ask a court to order him to answer the question.

“His reaction to this letter was unprofessional; he did not conduct himself like a minister. He should rather have considered why our organisations would deem it necessary to write such a letter and chosen to make contact with us to discuss the matter further. Instead, he dismissed our concerns and attacked us, claiming that we wanted to take him to court,” Wilken said.

He added that although Steenhuisen claimed to have an open door policy, “the door is not as open as he says, and it is open very selectively”.

“We are also very suspicious that the minister keeps saying he wants to involve the private sector, but then assumes full control of vaccine procurement.”

Wilken was referring to Argentinian vaccine manufacturer Biogénesis Bagó, which had abruptly revoked the appointment of local private vaccine manufacturer Design Biologix as agent for an Argentinian foot-and-mouth disease vaccine on 3 February.

“It’s the physical farmer on the ground that takes all the punches. It seems to me like [farmers] are not included in any talks. Other role players may say they speak on behalf of the farmer, but those guys know that whether a week, two weeks, or a month goes by, they will still see their salary in their bank accounts, which is not the case for farmers,” he said.

Departmental dysfunction

Independent political analyst Dr Piet Croucamp told Farmer’s Weekly that many farmers took issue with the fact that Steenhuisen appeared not to be able to get ANC-appointed officials in his department to do his bidding.

“[Steenhuisen] will very quickly have to start creating the impression within agriculture that he consults widely enough and realise that different interest groups have the capacity to make a difference to help him manage the problems in the sector,” he said.

Croucamp added that commercial farming interests had probably held Steenhuisen to a different standard than the ANC ministers preceding him and expected him to act faster and more decisively than he did.

In an interview with Farmer’s Weekly, Dr Tobias Doyer, CEO of Grain SA, said that while Steenhuisen had some success addressing some challenges within his portfolio, the complexity of agriculture cannot be underestimated. Yet, he had experienced Steenhuisen as far more accessible and responsive than any of his predecessors.

“One could say he jumped in with a measure of hubris, but from our interactions with him, he also came across as someone sincere who wants to make a difference.

“Agriculture is an extremely challenging portfolio, and one could argue that the ANC may have handed him a poisoned chalice in offering him the position in order to neutralise the opposition’s influence.

“The task he took on, to be both the DA leader in a coalition government and minister of agriculture, is enormous. Agriculture also doesn’t allow itself to be controlled.

“With respect to other Cabinet ministers from coalition partners, such as Pieter Groenewald [former Freedom Front Plus leader and current minister of correctional services], and Leon Schreiber [DA minister of home affairs], the sectors they oversee report to them and are, to an extent, within their control.

“In contrast, South African farmers [form] an entrepreneurial, fiercely independent, and opinionated community that creates its own reality, which poses its own challenges.

“I think the disappointment in Steenhuisen that you see on social media space is a reflection of people’s hopes and expectations that things would change significantly under the Government of National Unity [GNU], but the reality is that government is an extremely difficult machine, and no bureaucracy anywhere moves quickly,” Doyer explained.

He also pointed out that in terms of FMD and international trade matters, Steenhuisen’s portfolio is intertwined with other government departments and ministerial portfolios.

“There are different departments with different policies, and you have to deal with international prices, local droughts. People also forget that the economic cluster portfolios [Treasury; Trade, Industry and Competition] play a significant role in agriculture.

“With FMD, [Steenhuisen] was confronted with the complexity of several government departments across the country, including police and provincial governments, which have to be aligned with the dairy industry, the feedlot industry, extensive sheep farmers, pig farmers… it is incredibly complex.”

DA follow Groenewald’s example

Venter said that Steenhuisen stepping down as DA leader opens the possibility for the party to follow the example of the Freedom Front Plus, with Groenewald stepping down as leader when he became minister of correctional services.

“There is a case to be made that the party leader shouldn’t also be in Cabinet, which is something the DA should consider.”

He added that, should Steenhuisen be removed as minister of agriculture, the loss of continuity in such a critical portfolio could be damaging.

“It would be a pity if he were to step down as agriculture minister now. He is starting to build up some authority as minister, but the current situation is not favourable, and there are many aspects of FMD that are beyond his control.

“Why is Namibia FMD-free? Because biosecurity is strictly maintained, cattle are not transported at night, and the red line [separating FMD-free zones from at-risk ones] is enforced. In South Africa, vaccines are one solution, but there are also the roles of the police, provincial departments of agriculture, and the way livestock is handled in communal areas,” Venter said.

Wilken expressed the hope that, if Steenhuisen remains in his portfolio after the April leadership contest, he will have the capacity to consult more widely and respond to a broader array of interest groups.

A new mission

In a statement released today, in which Steenhuisen announced that he will not make himself available for re-election as DA leader, he alluded to what a big ask it is to be both the DA party leader and agriculture minister.

“For the rest of this term of office, I will focus all my time and energy as minister of agriculture on defeating the most devastating FMD outbreak our country has ever seen and on pursuing mass vaccination to ensure this is the last mass outbreak of FMD our country ever sees. After leading the DA into the GNU, my next chapter must be to eradicate this devastating disease from our shores once and for all. That is not a part-time job.

“It would not be fair to the incredible farmers of South Africa for me to split my time between battling the worst FMD outbreak ever on the one hand, and running an internal campaign for the next three months and then leading a local government election campaign on the other hand,” he said.