Parliament's Committee Critiques Steenhuisen's Conduct Amid Rising Tensions Over FMD Response

• Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen faces criticism from Parliament over his conduct during committee proceedings
• Tensions within the committee allegedly escalated amid allegations of secret recordings during oversight visits
• Members call for a formal address of personal disputes affecting the committee's work on the foot-and-mouth disease response

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen is expected to face criticism from Parliament's portfolio committee over concerns about his conduct and interactions with members during proceedings and oversight work.

Tensions escalated and were affecting the work

According to EWN, committee members also raised allegations that departmental staff had secretly recorded them during oversight visits without consent, prompting calls for the matter to be addressed formally. The issue was raised during a committee meeting on Tuesday, 31 March 2026, by ActionSA member Athol Trollip, who indicated that tensions between himself and the minister had escalated and were affecting the work of the committee. He stated that his role was to represent constituencies impacted by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak rather than engage in personal disputes.

Read also

Nigeria tells citizens to lie low amid KuGompo City protests as locals ask when they are going home

Committee chairperson Dina Pule supported the concerns, indicating dissatisfaction with Steenhuisen's conduct and confirming that she intended to raise the matter directly with him at the next meeting. Members noted that relations within the committee had deteriorated since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, despite previous cooperation. Steenhuisen and department officials have been providing weekly updates to the committee on the disaster management response to the outbreak.

Exchanges between Steenhuisen and Trollip

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member Laeticia Arries also raised concern, indicating that committee meetings should not be used to resolve personal disputes and suggesting that the matter be escalated to Cabinet.

The dispute follows a series of exchanges between Steenhuisen and Trollip, who previously led the Democratic Alliance (DA), both in committee meetings and in the National Assembly, particularly over the minister's handling of the outbreak. The committee is expected to address the matter further in upcoming engagements.

Read also

Government to meet Nigerian officials over alleged Igbo King coronation in Eastern Cape

Other stories about John Steenhuisen

New research by the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) showed that a large majority of farmers have lost confidence in the Department of Agriculture and Minister John Steenhuisen over the handling of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. SAAI questioned whether declaring FMD a national disaster would prompt swift, practical interventions.

Dr Dion George has accused John Steenhuisen (DA) of being captured by the African National Congress (ANC). Dr George has been in the news of late after he was removed as the minister in November 2025 for alleged poor performance and was replaced by Willie Aucamp. George alleged that the DA was captured through its leader, Steenhuisen.

Internal tensions are escalating inside the Democratic Alliance (DA) ahead of its April 2026 federal congress, with senior figures rallying behind Western Cape agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer as a potential replacement for John Steenhuisen in the national agriculture portfolio.

Source: Briefly News