High-spending John Steenhuisen receives a default judgment for a credit card debt of R150,000
DA leader John Steenhuisen had a default judgment granted against him in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court in May for unpaid personal credit card debt of nearly R150,000. It has also been alleged that the DA’s federal finance committee removed his party's credit card earlier this year because the account could not be reconciled, raising questions about his ability to manage his government department, let alone a country.
Image: File Phando Jikelo / Parliament of RSA
John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), has a default judgment for almost R150,000 in unpaid credit card debt, raising concerns about his capacity to manage a government department.
Steenhuisen, who serves as Minister of Agriculture, is reportedly struggling with personal financial management despite earning a ministerial salary of over R2.6 million per year.
According to a Daily Maverick report, Steenhuisen had a default judgment granted against him in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court in May for unpaid personal credit card debt of nearly R150,000. It has also been alleged that the DA’s federal finance committee removed his party's credit card earlier this year because the account could not be reconciled.
African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has taken a dig at Steenhuisen, saying all ministers must submit to lifestyle audits.
"John Steenhuisen has to explain himself in these lifestyle audits, like everybody. I saw that matter that he owes, I don't know what he owes, credit card, lifestyle audits, he spends money carelessly. I'm not the one who's saying that; that's what's been reported," Mbalula said.
Independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego said that Steenhuisen’s reported financial problems raise national security concerns, particularly for a minister with access to top‑secret information.
“A minister having financial problems raises national security issues. When you are being vetted for security in determining what level of access you need to have to information, your credit record, your default judgment," Mashego said.
"It comes into consideration. The belief here is that if you are having financial problems, you can easily be brought to disclose information that you should keep secret.”
Mashego added that ministers with financial difficulties could be vulnerable to lobbying or undue influence.
"You cannot be in that position when you are not clear when it comes to how you manage your finances because it becomes easy to be lobbied, it becomes easy to commit treason,” he said.
"Which means the challenge will be for the president to request that he excuse himself from the ministry. Because if you are a minister with a top-secret clearance and you have financial problems, you are actually a risk."
Steenhuisen's office did not respond to IOL's questions.
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