By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has made changes to his cabinet following consultation with Democratic Alliance (DA), as a member of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The changes come at the request of DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis two weeks ago, as part of a reshuffle of its representatives.
Accordingly, Ramaphosa in line with Section 91 (3) (b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa effected the changes.
The DA has six posts in the cabinet, while several members serve as deputy ministers, after no party secured a parliamentary majority in the 2024 general elections.
John Steenhuisen was stripped the agriculture portfolio, offering him a deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.
Alexandra Abrahams, the current DA deputy minister at the trade department, would become deputy minister of electricity, taking over from Samantha Graham-Mare.
Willie Aucamp, the current minister for forestry, fisheries and the environment, would succeed Steenhuisen.
Aucamp, who has a farming background, is seen as better positioned to address stakeholder tension and accelerate Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) control measures.
Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier, will take Aucamp’s old portfolio.
Steenhuisen, 50, has been a key figure in the DA since 2014 when he was appointed the party’s parliamentary leader. His rise to the top continued in 2019 when he replaced Mmusi Maimane, the party’s first black leader.
He was re-elected to the position in 2023 and was widely expected to run unopposed for a third term, until political pressure forced him to abandon his campaign.
Other changes will see Yusuf Cassim, who has served on the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and has roots in student politics, will be appointed Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training.
Jack Bloom, longest-serving member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature will take up the position of Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, replacing Sello Seitlholo.
Seitlholo penned a letter of gratitude to the DA and his family, who he said supported him.
“I would like to thank my party, the Democratic Alliance, in particular John Steenhuisen, who identified and gave me the opportunity to serve in one of the highest positions in government. I do not take this for granted.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people I need to thank for having made the past two years the best years of my academic journey,” he said.
The DA is one of 10 parties that form part of a coalition government set up by African National Congress (ANC) following elections that didn’t produce an outright winner.
In addition to shuffling DA representation around in the national executive, Ramaphosa also appointed Dina Pule as the Minister of Social Development.
The position was left vacant after former minister Sisisi Tolashe was dismissed by the president in May, following a series of scandals and damning allegations against her.
Pule has been the Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC Women’s League since July 2023 and was earmarked for the role in earlier reports.
Notably, Pule’s return to the national executive has its own controversial history, after she, too, was fired following findings of maladministration and unethical conduct in 2012/13.