John Steenhuisen accused of committing treason

Afriforum said Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen and his department have committed treason against South African livestock farmers and consumers.

This, they said, is due to their handling of the purchase of vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and to Design Biologix’s role in that process.

“The Minister knows that the government is ineffective and that the private sector is effective,” said Lambert de Klerk, Manager for Environmental Affairs at Afriforum.

“However, he chose the ineffective government over the private sector by having the department covertly apply pressure to exclude Design Biologix from the process.”

De Klerk referenced the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) North West Congress in Potchefstroom, which took place recently.

There, they said, Steenhuisen implied that Design Biologix had withdrawn its application to import and distribute the FMD vaccine.

This food-and-mouth vaccine, which is in high demand in South Africa, is manufactured in Argentina by Biogénesis Bagó.

This would mean that the exclusive agency contract between Design Biologix and Biogénesis Bagó was consequently revoked.

Design Biologix said in a statement that this is untrue and that their exclusion is the result of intervention by officials from the Department of Agriculture.

The full Design Biologix statement is provided below for the sake of clarity.

Design Biologix statement – 11 February 2026

Recent reports by various media have confirmed that Design Biologix CC (“Design Biologix”) will no longer import and distribute the Bioaftogen® vaccine, which is manufactured in Argentina by Biogenesis Bagó S.A. (“Biogenesis”), after the exclusive agency agreement was unexpectedly revoked by Biogenesis on 2 February 2026.

There is, however, widespread speculation about the circumstances surrounding the termination of the agency agreement between Design Biologix and Biogenesis.

At the Democratic Alliance’s North West Provincial Congress held in Potchefstroom on 9 February 2026, the Minister of Agriculture, Minister Steenhuisen, implied during an interview that it was Design Biologix that had withdrawn its application to import and distribute the vaccine, which would mean that the agency agreement was consequently revoked. This is untrue.

The media widely reported that Design Biologix was initially one of only two industry bodies and designated agents appointed to import and distribute foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, with Dunevax as the other agent for the Dollvet vaccine from Turkey.

On 14 January 2026, Minister Steenhuisen publicly announced that Design Biologix had been appointed as the exclusive agent of Biogenesis in South Africa for the import and distribution of the Bioaftogen® vaccine. Minister Steenhuisen repeated this statement on several other occasions.

Design Biologix confirms that, after the exclusive agency was awarded by Biogenesis on 15 January 2026, an application in terms of section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 was submitted to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (“SAHPRA”) on 16 January 2026 for authorisation to import and distribute the vaccine.

Subject to the necessary authorisation being granted by SAHPRA, Design Biologix was preparing to procure 6 million emergency doses of the Bioaftogen® vaccine from Biogenesis between February and April 2026, with the intention of making them available at reasonable and competitive prices.

On 16 January 2026, following the announcement that Design Biologix had received the exclusive agency, Design Biologix approached the Department to request urgent discussions with all stakeholders to determine a way forward for the importation and distribution of the Bioaftogen® vaccine.

Design Biologix received an immediate response from Dr Emily Mogajane, a representative of the Department, in which she indicated that, in terms of a decision and because foot-and-mouth disease is a state-controlled disease, Onderstepoort Biological Products (“OBP”) had the mandate to apply for the import permit for the vaccine, and that Dr Modisane, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Department, would engage further with Design Biologix.

In a separate communication on 16 January 2026, Mr Ramasodi, the Director-General of the Department, informed Design Biologix that the Department was already in direct discussions with Biogenesis regarding arrangements to import vaccines from Argentina, and that preparations were already under way for an article 21 application to be submitted to and finalised by SAHPRA through OBP — at a time when there was still no agency agreement between OBP and Biogenesis.

On 19 January 2026, representatives of Design Biologix requested an urgent meeting with Mr Ramasodi to clarify the confusion surrounding the authorisation process for importing the vaccine. This meeting never took place.

Also on 19 January 2026, Dr Jacob Modumo, Acting Chief Executive Officer of OBP, communicated directly with Biogenesis and indicated that OBP was the only company representing the South African government to procure FMD vaccines, and that the administrative process for importing the Bioaftogen® vaccine would be initiated by OBP (and therefore not by Design Biologix). Drs Mogajane and Modisane were copied on this communication.

On 22 January 2026, a meeting was held between, among others, Minister Steenhuisen, Mr Ramasodi, Dr Emily Mogajane, Chairperson of the Ministerial FMD Task Team (MTT) and Chief Director for Biosecurity Coordination at the Department, Ms Jana le Roux, Chief of Staff in the Minister’s office, as well as representatives of Biogenesis and the Argentine Embassy. Representatives of Biogenesis subsequently informed Design Biologix that the Department’s representatives at the meeting had made it clear that the Department preferred not to work with Design Biologix as an intermediary, and that the Department rather wished to procure the Bioaftogen® vaccine directly from Biogenesis.

In a WhatsApp message to Dr Buys of Design Biologix, Minister Steenhuisen denied that there had been any attempt by officials within his Department to bypass Design Biologix. He further indicated that he and others in the Department were working hard to expedite the section 21 authorisation for the Bioaftogen® vaccine, similar to the process followed for the Dollvet vaccine. The Minister further emphasised that foot-and-mouth disease is a state-controlled disease and that the importation and rollout of vaccines must follow the protocols as prescribed in legislation.

On 30 January 2026, the Minister’s spokesperson confirmed that the Department “100% supports Design Biologix’s application” and would do nothing to delay or derail it.

These circumstances preceded the letter in which Design Biologix’s exclusive agency was terminated on 2 February 2026.

In the communication accompanying the termination letter, Biogenesis confirmed that during the meeting of 22 January 2026 they had been advised by the Minister and several Department officials that the Department preferred not to work with intermediaries, and that Design Biologix should not act as agent.

After receipt of the termination letter, Design Biologix had no alternative but to withdraw its pending SAHPRA application for authorisation to import the Bioaftogen® vaccine.

Although it has not been confirmed, indications are that OBP, without prior authorisation from Biogenesis and before the termination of Design Biologix’s exclusive agency, had already applied to SAHPRA to import the same Bioaftogen® vaccine.

It is clear that, while the Department is willing to allow another designated agent and intermediary to import and distribute the Dollvet vaccine, it is, for reasons not publicly disclosed, unwilling to allow Design Biologix to do so in relation to the Bioaftogen® vaccine.

It is regrettable that Design Biologix, with its proven capabilities and track record, has in this manner been excluded as an intermediary from procuring and distributing the much-needed Bioaftogen® vaccine.

Design Biologix remains hopeful that the 6 million emergency doses of the Bioaftogen® vaccine will still be urgently procured for South African farmers and feedlot operators, in order to eradicate this devastating disease that has such an impact on the agricultural sector and on so many lives.