The corridors of power in the DA are swirling with rumours that party leader John Steenhuisen is preparing to reshuffle his cabinet deployees, with some DA ministers likely to face the chop.
This comes as unease grows in the party over who should replace Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister of trade, industry & competition. Whitfield was fired by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June.
Steenhuisen has delayed submitting the name of a candidate to replace Whitfield, causing some in and outside the DA to question his intentions.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed to the Sunday Times that the president was still waiting for Steenhuisen to submit a name for Whitfield’s replacement.
Ramaphosa, in an interview with the SABC this week, indicated that he was mulling changes to his cabinet.
According to two insiders in Steenhuisen’s camp, the DA leader is considering replacing at least three ministers and one deputy minister.
Steenhuisen had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
The sources claim Steenhuisen is preparing to purge ministers who have fallen out with him, with one saying that his plans for a reshuffle have not been presented to the party’s federal executive (FedEx).
“He is preparing for the elections, and he wants to do this to remove people who might be a threat to his re-election,” the source said. “There are also some in the executive who are feeling the weight of the work. There are ministers who are not performing as well as he would like, and those people will be replaced.”
[Steenhuisen] is preparing for the elections, and he wants to do this to remove people who might be a threat to his re-election.
— Anonymous DA insider
The DA is due to hold its federal congress in April 2026.
One senior DA member hinted last week that party members anticipated Steenhuisen would make changes to the party’s representation in the government of national unity (GNU) cabinet in a bid to strengthen his hold on power ahead of the congress, where he will be seeking re-election.
“I don’t know what he’s planning, but I can tell you now that it’s going to be a way to make sure he covers [all] the bases for the congress next year,” the member said. “FedEx has not been brought into the confidence of his decision-making.”
This source also indicated that the party was constantly receiving queries from the business community and other interested entities about why it was taking so long for Steenhuisen to replace Whitfield.
Another source said Steenhuisen had framed this move as a review, adding the DA leader was carefully considering which ministers would best serve the party and his own interests. “It’s not about factions. The leader wants the best people on the job. If the DA intends to replace the ANC as the leader in government in 2029, we need to demonstrate we have the [most] capable people for the job.”
According to one party insider, Steenhuisen will also need to appoint a coloured minister to maintain favour with that constituency.
The Sunday Times understands that part of Steenhuisen’s objective in carrying out the reshuffle is to bring in certain individuals from the Western Cape. But his plan seems to have hit a snag, according to insiders. This is because the people he is considering are not sitting MPs and would first have to be sworn in. However, this would mean the resignation of several current DA MPs.
“It looks like there was an intention on his part to move some of the ministers to bring some people potentially from the Western Cape who are now not MPs to come and join the party in parliament and the cabinet, [but] it seems to have hit a snag somewhere,” said the source.
The insider also said there had been talk of a reshuffle shortly after the axing of Whitfield, but not necessarily a wholesale DA reshuffle at that time.
“You can never know [what is going to happen]. You can never have the arrogance to think anyone is untouchable. It would be naive to think that would never be [on the cards], particularly at a time when there is a vacancy and you are approaching congress season. [In such circumstances], all these things are possible.
“Whether [such intentions have] been expressed is another thing, because the leader always has discretion, and he can always make that motivation. So you can never rule that out completely.”
The source added it was “not far-fetched” that Steenhuisen would want to “consolidate his own faction” ahead of the federal congress. “Those things are normal — that’s what always happens ahead of congresses and [after] congresses. Factionalism exists everywhere.”
However, a Gauteng provincial leader who had also heard the rumours warned that removing ministers and deputy ministers would cause factional battles in the run-up to the 2026 conference.
The leader said that if Steenhuisen removed individuals such as deputy finance minister Ashor Sarupen, who is known to be in federal council chair Helen Zille’s camp, it would consolidate them against him.
Sarupen is from Gauteng, which sends the second-biggest voting delegation to DA congresses, after the Western Cape.
“If he wants to have all of Gauteng behind Cilliers [Brink], then he [should go ahead and] remove people without consulting FedEx,” the source said. “You can’t just make that kind of a decision without consulting us. He has [the] right to consider a reshuffle, but he has no right to dismiss people because he wants to be re-elected. He must state his reasons, and those ... must be sound and in the interests of the party and the people of South Africa.”
However, the ANC is said to be calling for Ramaphosa to offer the deputy minister position to one of the parties it intends to bring into the expanded GNU. Some senior ANC leaders want Ramaphosa to remove at least two DA ministers and replace them with deployees from other parties.
Ramaphosa on Thursday told the SABC he would be following up on the DA’s bid to replace Whitfield. “That is their slot,” the president said. “That is the place we have reserved for them. If they no longer have a desire to fill that slot, I have a number of ideas on how I can deal with that issue.”
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