John Steenhuisen, the outgoing leader of the DA, painted himself in glory in his farewell speech on Wednesday, saying his leadership masterminded the demise of the ANC.
Steenhuisen revealed he will not stand for re-election as party leader and will instead focus on his role as minister of agriculture.
“I have delivered everything I had promised my party when I was elected back in 2019. We have ministers and MECs and this was imagined from a party which once polled at 1.7%,” he said.
“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 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak our country has ever seen, and to pursue mass vaccination to ensure this is the last mass outbreak of FMD our country ever sees.
“My next chapter must be to eradicate the 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, while also running an internal campaign for the next three months and then leading a local government election campaign on the other hand,” he said.
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, while also running an internal campaign for the next three months and then leading a local government election campaign on the other hand
— John Steenhuisen
Steenhuisen heaped praise on President Cyril Ramaphosa for forming the government of national unity (GNU) and ensuring the MK Party did not see the echelons of power.
“For the first time in many years life is getting better for most South Africans,” he asserted.
Steenhuisen’s political career dates back to the 1990s when, at the age of 22, he was elected councillor in what is now known as the eThekwini metro.
He scaled the regional ranks until 2010, when he was hit by controversy after allegations he was having an affair with a party member. He made a spectacular comeback in 2011 when he was elected parliamentary chief whip.
He was elected party leader in 2019, succeeding Mmusi Maimane.
Sowetan
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