Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has exited the party’s ongoing leadership race!

The Minister of Agriculture formally announced his decision on Wednesday morning, saying, “This is not the end of the DA, and certainly not the end of me.”

FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE

Steenhuisen said he has decided to focus his time and energy as Minister of Agriculture and dealing with the foot-and-mouth disease. The outbreak has been widely affecting the agriculture sector, which recently led to several lobby groups launching legal action against the minister.

The country responded to the foot-and-mouth disease through mass vaccination in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. Steenhuisen is also seeking to declare the disease a National State of Disaster.

NEW LEADER TO BE ELECTED

Steenhuisen added that the DA he leaves behind co-governs a country that is firmly on the up. The party’s Federal Congress will see a new leader elected in April.

His decision not to seek re-election comes as former DA Federal Chair Dion George publicly called out Steenhuisen and accused him of being “captured”.
DA REACTS TO STEENHUISEN’S DECISION

The party thanked Steenhuisen for his leadership over the past six years, saying that under his tenure the DA strengthened its institutional stability and electoral performance, and ultimately entered national government.
“His leadership in initiating the Moonshot Pact laid the groundwork for the Government of National Unity and a new era of cooperative governance,” the party said.

The DA also thanked him for his service and wished him strength as he turns his focus to his ministerial responsibilities, particularly the response to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.