Tag Archives: John Steenhuisen

Steenhuisen visits troubled North West municipalities

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Picture: The Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen

By REGINALD KANYANE

4 September 2025- The Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen, will be engaging residents, business and farming stakeholders in the JB Marks, Ditsobotla and Matlosana Local Municipalities in the North West today to champion the DA’s six-point economic growth plan.

Steenhuisen said the plan is a blueprint for fixing failing municipalities, lowering the cost of living, securing reliable energy and water, repairing infrastructure, creating jobs, and attracting investment.

“I will be joined by the DA North West Provincial Leader and Member of Parliament (MP), Leon Basson, Deputy Provincial Leader, Cornél Dreyer, Provincial Chairperson AND Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL), Freddie Sonakile, Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) and councillors at the various stops.

“Our first engagement will be a meeting with agricultural stakeholders and farmers from JB Marks and surrounding areas at Lekwena Wildlife Estate, N12, Potchefstroom on 4 September 2025, at 12:30pm,” he said.

Steenhuisen further said he will then visit the historic railway station destroyed by fire in 2020 at

Potchefstroom Railway Station, Stasie Road, Potchefstroom at 2pm. He added that his third engagement will be a public meeting with community leaders, local chamber of business and members of the North West University (NWU) at Snowflake Venue, 2 Kock Street, Central, Potchefstroom at 5:30pm.

“On Friday, I will visit Matlosana Local Municipality as part of oversight of failing road infrastructure at several streets in Central Matlosana. That will commence at 1:15pm in Lautz Street, Klerksdorp.

“We will also embark on an oversight to out-of-order Klerksdorp Wastewater Treatment Plant at 2pm. Then we will have a roundtable with business and stakeholders on the decline of the Industrial Hub and the impact on jobs and investment. At Uraniaville Industrial Hub, Klerksdorp at 3pm,” said Steenhuisen.

He said he will inspect persistent sewer failures and service collapse at Orkney CBD and Golf Club around 5:10pm too.

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DA welcomes progress on Foot and Mouth Disease prevention

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By BAKANG MOKOTO

1 September 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it welcomed the update by Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, on the measures being implemented to combat Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). The DA said they note with particular importance that no new outbreaks have been recorded in the Eastern Cape since September 2024.

The DA spokesperson on Agriculture and Member of Parliament (MP), Willie Aucamp said Northern Cape and Western Cape remain FMD-free. Aucamp said there are currently 274 unresolved outbreaks in five provinces, of which 180 are in KwaZulu-Natal.

“KZN remains the epicentre of infection, and was the source of the Mpumalanga outbreak following the sale of infected cattle at auction.

“The announcement of a mid-scale vaccine production facility, due to be operational by March 2026, to strengthen South Africa’s self-reliance and reduce dependence on imports. Key steps to accelerate animal identification, expand diagnostic capacity, and intensify awareness campaigns,” he said.

Aucamp further said the establishment of an Industry–Government Task Team on animal disease prevention, management and control — a vital structure to ensure better coordination, enforcement, and accountability. He added that FMD has severe consequences for South Africa’s agricultural industry.

“It blocks export opportunities, increases costs for both producers and consumers and threatens jobs across the value chain. We are encouraged by the Minister’s commitments, but stresses that success will depend on an all-of-society approach.

“Farmers, industry, government, and civil society must all act responsibly and in the best interests of the agricultural sector and the broader economy,” said Aucamp.

He said the DA will continue to monitor the implementation of these measures, and hold the government accountable to ensure that FMD is brought under control and that South Africa’s agricultural industry is protected.

Meanwhile, Steenhuisen indicated that the Ministry of Agriculture has been flooded with media queries about the occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease in especially two provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

He said concerns were raised about meat safety and interventions from the Department of Agriculture to contain existing outbreaks and prevent future outbreaks.

“We would like to put the facts on the table and ask all citizens to make it their business to obtain knowledge about how to mitigate the spread of this disease.

“After all, biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility. The department has ordered 901 200 doses of vaccines to the value of over R70 million,” he said.

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Young people want job opportunities, not slogans

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By REGINALD KANYANE

16 June 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen, said a Youth Day is a day of remembrance, bringing sharp focus onto the important role of “you” in driving change. Steenhuisen said they remember the courage of the 1976 generation, who stood up against injustice and demanded the right to equal education.

He further said they refused to be told that their future would be dictated by an unjust government. Steenhuisen added that and yet, almost half a century later, one injustice has been replaced with another.

“Not in the classroom, but in the unemployment queue. Not enforced by racist laws, but by the cold indifference of 30 years of singular ANC rule that has robbed millions of young South Africans of opportunity.

“This is the real crisis of our time — a betrayal of the promise of freedom. Youth unemployment in South Africa today is the highest in the world. Over 8.7 million young people are not in employment, education, or training,” he said.

Steenhuisen said that’s not just a statistic — it’s a national tragedy. He said it is a violation of dignity, a theft of potential and a failure of justice.

“Sadly in our country, one does not have to go far to meet a young South African who has been affected by the lack of employment opportunities. These are skilled young people. Matric completed.

“In many instances, higher education has been completed. Trained for the 4th Industrial Revolution. They apply for dozens of jobs every month — but hear nothing back. They do not have “connections,” said Steenhuisen.

He said these young people do not have experience or a chance to gain it. Steenhuisen said they are losing hope.

“That is the story of millions of young people in this country. They do not want favours and slogans. They want a country where working hard means getting ahead.

“A country that opens doors, not closes them. A country that sees them. In the past they had a singular government that clung to policies that served the connected few, not the forgotten many. They got empty promises at youth summits while the economy crumbled,” he said.

Steenhuisen said they got a jobs crisis caused not by bad luck — but by bad governance.

Meanwhile, the ANC national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu said 16 June is a powerful day etched in the collective consciousness of the nation. Bhengu said on this day in 1976, the

apartheid regime unleashed deadly force on unarmed students who were peacefully protesting against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction and the broader injustices of Bantu Education.

“June 16, 1976 remains indelible in the history of our liberation struggle, a day when a vicious regime declared war on schoolchildren who dared to dream of freedom.

“We salute the militant and fearless Class of 1976, whose courage, defiance, and sacrifice altered the course of our history. Their bravery is a lasting reminder of the power of youth to drive profound political and social transformation,” she said.

Bhengu said ANC recognises that the history of their liberation struggle is incomplete without acknowledging the central role played by young people. She said they were not passive observers but leaders, organisers and frontline combatants.

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