Dina Pule rises, John Steenhuisen falls

Wednesday’s swearing-in of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s newly appointed ministers and deputy ministers is expected to mark the start of a new chapter for the Government of National Unity (GNU), but it also lays bare two of the coalition’s biggest political storylines; the dramatic fall of Democratic Alliance (DA) heavyweight John Steenhuisen and the unlikely political resurrection of former minister Dina Pule.

While the ceremony at the Union Buildings is meant to showcase a refreshed executive, it is the contrasting fortunes of the two politicians that have dominated political conversation.

For Steenhuisen, the reshuffle represents a remarkable reversal of fortunes.

Just over two years ago, the DA leader entered the GNU as Minister of Agriculture, one of the party’s most prized Cabinet positions after the 2024 elections. His appointment was viewed as evidence that the DA had secured real influence in national government.

But after months of growing tensions inside the party and increasing scrutiny over his leadership, Steenhuisen has now been moved out of Cabinet’s top table to become Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.

Although neither Ramaphosa nor the DA has publicly described the move as a demotion, few in political circles see it differently.

His exit from Agriculture follows months of speculation about his deteriorating relationship with DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who increasingly emerged as one of the party’s most influential voices.

The friction became increasingly public following the DA’s disappointing performance in recent by-elections and internal disagreements over the party’s strategy within the GNU.

Hill-Lewis has steadily become the face of the DA’s future, while Steenhuisen has faced growing questions over whether he remains the party’s strongest national leader.

Those questions became louder when Hill-Lewis announced the DA’s new GNU team this week, saying he had personally selected leaders who would demonstrate “the DA difference” through clean governance, delivery and accountability.

The appointments were widely interpreted as Hill-Lewis stamping his authority on the party’s executive deployment strategy.

Steenhuisen’s replacement by Willem Aucamp as Agriculture Minister is one of the clearest signs yet that the DA is reshaping its Cabinet team while trying to present a fresh image inside the coalition government.

If Steenhuisen’s political stock appears to have fallen, Dina Pule’s has risen from the ashes.

More than a decade after leaving Cabinet under a cloud of scandal, the former communications minister has staged one of South African politics’ most unexpected comebacks.

Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Pule as Minister of Social Development has reignited memories of the scandal that ended her ministerial career during Jacob Zuma’s presidency.

Pule was dismissed from Cabinet in 2013 after the Public Protector found that she had acted improperly by allowing her romantic partner, businessman Phosane Mngqibisa, to benefit from the government’s ICT Indaba conference in Cape Town.

The investigation concluded that she had breached the Executive Ethics Code by failing to declare the relationship and exposing herself to a conflict of interest.

Parliament’s ethics committee also found against her, while then Speaker Max Sisulu ruled that she had betrayed her oath of office and brought Parliament into disrepute.

The findings became one of the defining ethics scandals of Zuma’s Cabinet and ultimately cost Pule her ministerial position.

For years afterwards, she largely disappeared from frontline national politics.

Her return this week therefore caught both political observers and opposition parties by surprise.

The DA immediately rejected the appointment, arguing that a department responsible for protecting millions of vulnerable South Africans should not be led by someone previously found guilty of unethical conduct.

DA social development spokesperson Nazley Sharif said the appointment undermined Ramaphosa’s repeated promises to build an ethical government.

The controversy is heightened by the fact that Pule takes over a portfolio already bruised by controversy.

She replaces former Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe, whose removal followed weeks of mounting criticism and political pressure.

The result is a department that has now seen one controversial minister replaced by another carrying significant political baggage.

The ANC, however, has rallied firmly behind Pule.

In welcoming her appointment, the governing party expressed confidence that she would serve with dedication and improve the lives of South Africa’s poorest citizens.

For Ramaphosa, the decision reflects the delicate balancing act required to manage competing ANC factions while maintaining stability inside the GNU.

The President has repeatedly presented himself as a champion of ethical leadership since taking office in 2018.

Critics argue that restoring Pule to Cabinet weakens that message, while supporters insist experienced leaders deserve an opportunity to serve again.

As ministers prepare to take the oath of office at the Union Buildings on Wednesday afternoon, the formal ceremony is likely to be eclipsed by the politics behind the appointments.

For Steenhuisen, it is a reminder of how quickly influence can shift inside a governing coalition and within his own party.

For Pule, it marks an extraordinary return from political exile proof that in South African politics, few careers are ever truly over.

Whether her second stint in Cabinet becomes a story of redemption or a fresh source of political controversy is likely to be one of the defining questions facing Ramaphosa’s reshaped executive.