JOHANNESBURG, Feb 4 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said on Wednesday that he would not seek re-election in the party’s leadership contest in April but would continue in his role as agriculture minister.
Steenhuisen has led the pro-business DA since 2019 and has been overseeing the government’s response to a worsening foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
The DA is the second-biggest party in the coalition government formed in June 2024 after an election in which the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of white minority rule in 1994.
“For the rest of this term of office, I will focus all of my time and energy as Minister of Agriculture on defeating the most devastating foot-and-mouth disease outbreak our country has ever seen,” Steenhuisen told a press conference.
Political analysts say Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, another senior DA member, is likely to stand for party leader in April and take over from Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen has faced allegations that he used a party-issued credit card for personal expenses, although a DA investigation found no evidence that he had misappropriated funds.
“My term will be remembered for leading the DA into national government and putting South Africa on a new path to prosperity,” he told reporters.
The DA has roughly 22% of seats in South Africa’s lower house of parliament, while the ANC has 41%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alexander Winning)
