DA's outgoing leader John Steenhuisen addressed delegates at the party's congress for the last time as their leader.
Storm Simpson/News24
John Steenhuisen says he leaves the DA in a better position than when he became leader in 2019. The party is “stronger and healthier” than ever,he said on the first day of the DA’s federal congress. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is widely expected to become the next leader when voting occurs on Sunday.Outgoing DA leader John Steenhuisen says he is leaving the party in a better position than when he took over in 2019,including accomplishing the “moonshot mission” of getting into governance.
Steenhuisen made his final speech as DA leader on Saturday at the party’s first day of its federal congress in Midrand,Johannesburg.
He declared earlier this year that he wouldn’t be contesting the top leadership role for a third term.
He initially became interim leader in 2019 after Mmusi Maimane’s resignation,after the party received 20.77% of the national vote. This was a drop from the DA’s 2014 results of 22.23%.
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Steenhuisen won the 2020 election outright against former KwaZulu-Natal leader Mbali Ntuli. In 2023,he won a second term with an astounding 83% of the vote at the congress,defeating former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse.
On Saturday,he spoke extensively about the party’s decline and how the media had claimed that Maimane’s resignation was a “death knell” to the party. Steenhuisen said critics and the media had claimed it was the end of the DA,but that delegates had chosen to put their trust in him to lead the party through two congresses and two elections: the 2021 municipal elections and the 2024 general elections.
After the 2023 elective congress,the party had embarked on a “moonshot mission” to transform the “DA into a party of national government,fit-for-purpose in the new reality of coalition politics”.
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Steenhuisen added:
Just three years later,our presence in this hall today is a living testament to the spectacular success of that mission... Not only is the blue machine stronger and healthier than ever.
“As the famous saying goes,“kyk hoe lyk ons nou” (look at us now).
On joining the GNU
While Steenhuisen spoke extensively about the “moonshot mission”,which ultimately translated into the Moonshot Pact with other parties,it ultimately collapsed when the DA,Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front Plus joined the government of national unity (GNU).
The party has six ministerial posts,including the agricultural ministry,which Steenhuisen occupies.
He highlighted the party’s work in the six ministries: from Steenhuisen in agriculture,to new smart ID rollouts by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber and,ultimately,stopping the VAT hike and South Africa getting off the grey list.
John Steenhusien dances on stage for the last time as DA leader.
Rosetta Msimango/News24
“We obviously still have a very long way to go to rescue South Africa,but for the first time in decades,our country is well and truly moving in the right direction,” he said.
“And make no mistake about it,the only reason why any of this is happening – the only reason why we prevented a VAT increase,the only reason why we are fixing broken departments,and the only reason why our economy is showing signs of life – is because the DA accomplished our moonshot mission to enter a national governing coalition.”
[WATCH]
A teary John Steenhuisen thanks his family and children for their sacrifices and support during his tenure as DA leader.#DAcongress@news24 pic.twitter.com/nUOuCIznSX
— Bongekile Macupe (@BongeMacupe) April 11,2026
But it wasn’t all talk of the party’s good governance record. Steenhuisen warned of the risks of populism and dividing the country along identity lines,pointing to the new ANC-EFF coalition in Gauteng.
“The formation of the GNU is a precious and historic opportunity to unite those who want to build a better country across the old dividing lines of race,class,language and religion,” he said.
The GNU was also “an opportunity that we must seize and build upon. We,the people of South Africa and our government of national unity,are now the torchbearers of the future,keeping the flame alive for a world where difference and diversity are harnessed instead of weaponised”.
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Outgoing DA leader John Steenhuisen posing for photos with delegates earlier this morning.
Jan Gerber/News24
On Sunday,the party will announce a new leader,widely expected to be Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis,who has described Steenhuisen as his “dear friend,brother”.
Steenhuisen said leading the party had been the “greatest privilege” of his life.
Addressing his future,he added that he’d still be fighting foot-and-mouth disease as minister,but would also be doing what he’d always done since he first joined the DA.
“I will be side-by-side with all of you in this glorious blue machine,working in the trenches to support the next chapter of our storied history.
“I love my party and I love my country,and I will continue to serve them both with all my heart and soul.”
Steenhuisen’s speech received a long round of applause. The cameras panned to the crowd,where his family were clearly emotional.
He then walked off,waving to the crowd.
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