South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced cabinet changes late on Tuesday, demoting the former ​leader of his party's main coalition partner from ‌agriculture minister to deputy trade minister as requested by its new leader.

*Geordin Hill-Lewis took over as Democratic Alliance leader ​in April and asked Ramaphosa for changes to his ​party's representatives in the cabinet two weeks ⁠ago.

*The DA is the second-largest party in South ​Africa's governing coalition after Ramaphosa's African National Congress.

*Hill-Lewis asked ​Ramaphosa to move his predecessor as DA leader, John Steenhuisen, from the agriculture portfolio amid a severe foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

*Ramaphosa ​appointed the DA's Willie Aucamp as agriculture minister, ​as Hill-Lewis had asked. Aucamp previously served as forestry, fisheries and ‌environment ⁠minister.

*Ramaphosa also named the ANC's Dina Pule as minister of social development, filling a vacancy that emerged in May when Sisisi Tolashe was removed following misconduct ​allegations.

*Pule has ​not held ⁠a cabinet post since 2013, when she was dismissed after media reports that she ​gave preferential treatment to a company ​run by ⁠her boyfriend.

*Pule denied wrongdoing at the time, but a parliamentary ethics committee found she had breached ⁠the ​code of conduct for lawmakers ​and sanctioned her.

*Pule is a senior figure in the ANC Women's ​League.(Reuters, 2026-07-01)