Overview
- Court records reported on November 18 show a May default judgment against John Steenhuisen for nearly R150,000 in unpaid personal credit card debt, following a 2025 disclosure that he held no shares, property or income‑generating assets.
- Steenhuisen did not dispute the judgment and said his private finances are irrelevant unless there is evidence of corruption, maladministration or undue benefit.
- DA finance chair Dion George says he removed Steenhuisen’s party credit card because the account could not be reconciled, while Steenhuisen says he returned it voluntarily and moved to reimbursements.
- George, recently removed as environment minister, rejects a series of anonymously sourced misconduct allegations reported in the media, and Federal Council chair Helen Zille said no complaints reached her.
- Environmental groups, including the NSPCA, oppose successor Willie Aucamp over reported captive‑wildlife links, and some reporting has speculated that George resisted appeasing hunting interests.