The complicated relationship between DA leader John Steenhuisen and his chief of staff in the department of agriculture, Roman Cabanac, just keeps getting more complex.
More than six months after Steenhuisen, the minister of agriculture, asked the controversial, right-leaning podcaster to resign, he is still holding on to his R1.4m job.
Sources in the DA and the government this week raised alarm over Cabanac’s continued employment after it emerged that the State Security Agency had declined to give him top-level security clearance because of his dual French citizenship.
Cabanac was born in France.
Steenhuisen has been under pressure from within and outside the DA to fire Cabanac since his appointment came to light in August last year.
Cabanac has frequently expressed support for far-right politicians on social media and has stirred controversy with his podcasts.
His posts on X, formerly Twitter — which have now been deleted — included mocking the Sharpeville massacre, and an assertion that the right to life was better protected under apartheid than it is now. He also made snide remarks about “poor Xhosas” moving to the Western Cape.
In November last year Steenhuisen, speaking to the Sunday Times, expressed frustration that labour law protections were delaying the process of ousting his chief of staff.
For his part, Cabanac has maintained that he is staying put in the ministry while he negotiated over his conditions of his service.
Ministerial support staff such as Cabanac serve at the pleasure of their political principals. Their tenure is for the duration of the government term but ends if the minister who appointed them leaves their post early.
A DA insider speaking on condition of anonymity said there was bafflement as to why Steenhuisen was “dilly-dallying”.
“We thought that with this thing around the security clearance, he would have pulled the trigger by now and fired the guy.”
We thought that with this thing around the security clearance, he would have pulled the trigger by now and fired the guy
— DA insider
Steenhuisen’s spokesperson Joylene van Wyk said yesterday the minister’s office had yet to receive the SSA report on Cabanac.
“Security clearance vetting is part of the standard contract process for every official in Cabanac’s position,” she said, but noted it could be a long, drawn-out procedure.
“Mr Cabanac refused to resign when minister Steenhuisen asked him to step down ... However, proper process in terms of internal HR management and our labour law is required to be followed.
“It is vital to ensure that procedure is followed to the letter of the law and the internal practices of the department,” Van Wyk said, citing “the necessary protections offered to every single employee of the department, including Mr Cabanac”.
Cabanac had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. But he posted on X: “The Sunday Times will be writing a story about me, based on information I don’t even possess. The state of journalism in this country — risible.”
Government insiders said Cabanac had no day-to-day relationship with other members of the ministerial staff. Insiders have suggested Cabanac is digging in his heels to force Steenhuisen to offer him a golden handshake.
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