EXCLUSIVE | How John Steenhuisen breached DA tithe policy but stayed in power

An IOL investigation has revealed that outgoing Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen repeatedly failed to pay his compulsory financial contributions to the party in 2015 – a violation of DA policy that ordinarily results in termination of membership.

According to internal DA policy, members who fall into arrears on tithe payments for more than two months are no longer considered members of the party.

Yet Steenhuisen remained in office, despite defaulting on more than R12,000 in 2015.

Tithes are mandatory monthly contributions by elected officials to the party. Leaked internal correspondence from the time suggests Steenhuisen’s arrears were known within DA leadership circles but not acted upon.

In one email dated 19 August 2015 – allegedly from Steenhuisen to the then KwaZulu-Natal finance chair Francois Rogers – he pleaded for leniency, citing an unexpected SARS deduction:

“I apologise for not settling my tithe account on the 15th as discussed. I had every intention of settling the amount in full on my pay date. Unfortunately SARS has unexpectedly debited my salary without any reference and despite an appeal, with an amount of R14,000, leaving me in a significantly cash-strapped position. I will be in a position to bring the 60-day amount up to date by next Friday.”

But in a follow-up email dated 18 September 2015 – allegedly from DA provincial bookkeeper Marie Boshoff to Rogers with Steenhuisen copied – she writes simply: “John has not stuck to his arrangement to pay his tithes by last Friday.”

When asked by IOL whether he currently owed any tithes or had defaulted in the past, a visibly irate Steenhuisen accused the publication of spreading falsehoods and threatened legal action: “You should get your word from reputable people, not bitter sacked individuals,” he said.

He did, however, provide evidence of his current tithe status showing a due amount of R3,870 – not in arrears.

Pressed again on whether the party had pursued him for payment in the past, Steenhuisen doubled down, stating: “I’m going to immediately litigate against you if you publish these falsehoods.”

IOL has viewed multiple internal emails from the 2015 period in which DA officials appear to raise concerns about the outstanding payments. One such email, allegedly from Rogers, proposes escalating the issue to the Federal Finance Committee. In the same message, he adds: “This responsibility will soon be removed from province and will be managed at a national level… hip hip hooray!”

Zwakele Mncwango, then provincial chair of the DA in KwaZulu-Natal, confirmed Steenhuisen had defaulted on his tithes. “Yes, he did default, and I tried to raise it at a senior level within the party but nothing was done about it. John was always protected. The party always looked the other way when it came to him,” Mncwango told IOL.

Another senior DA insider echoed this sentiment. “He is always protected because he picks those who will defend him in positions of power. Him not running for re-election most likely came from instructions from donors who did not want him re-elected because of his past financial issues. Dion George sounded the alarm and funders must have demanded change,” said the source.

Steenhuisen maintains his withdrawal from the leadership race was his own decision, taken to allow him, in his current capacity as Agriculture Minister, to focus on combatting the foot-and-mouth disease affecting South African farmers.

IOL Politics