By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has terminated the contract of his controversial chief of staff Roman Cabanac with immediate effect.
Cabanac, who was born in France, has frequently expressed support for far-right politicians on social media and has stirred controversy with his podcasts.
In November last year, Steenhuisen expressed frustration that labour law protections were delaying the process of ousting his chief of staff.
Steenhuisen’s spokesperson Joylene van Wyk confirmed that Cabanac’s contract was terminated.
“We can confirm that his contract was terminated. We wish him well with his future endeavours”.
Cabanac also made the announcement in a social media post on Thursday.
“I received a letter that terminates my tenure as chief of staff to the minister of agriculture. I received it yesterday, which was my birthday, so fantastic timing.”
“I believe there are a few flaws with the termination letter, so I will be looking at options going forward, Cabanac said.”
Steenhuisen’s decision to dismiss Cabanac is seen as an attempt to restore confidence in his leadership and mitigate the damage caused by the controversy. It also reflects the broader challenges faced by the Democratic Alliance (DA) as it seeks to navigate a delicate balance between its more traditional voter base and attempts to broaden its appeal.
As it stands, the DA is one of the few stable parties heading to the 2026 local government elections. The party believes it can bag more municipalities through its participation in the Government of National Unity.
Meanwhile Steenhuisen has outlined a new vision for the Department of Agriculture since its split from other portfolios, which created a single dedicated department.
In an address delivered on the last day of South African Poultry Association’s AVI Africa conference, he said the department’s new vision is focused on seven key pillars: partnerships for growth, a modernised and progressive legal framework, expanded market access, support to farmers, biosecurity oversight, advocacy for the sector and improving food security.
He emphasised the importance of partnerships and said the department aimed to be a catalyst for collaboration between government and industry, and would strengthen collaboration with commodity bodies, all in efforts to increase farmers’ profitability, viability and sustainability.
Additionally, he launched a full legislative and regulatory review to update and remove ineffective regulations, vowing that new legislation and regulations would support the adoption of technology and traceability tools.
The DoA is also more focused on moving application processes online and improving efficiencies for approvals and registrations.
“Agriculture should be empowered by policy, technology and innovation, not hindered by it, “Steenhuisen said.
Moreover, the DoA is working hard to leverage trade agreements to unlock new investment destinations for South Africa’s agricultural products and efforts have been made to fast-track export protocols and build a dedicated export register.
Steenhuisen affirmed that the DoA was engaging with other departments such as Trade, Industry and Competition to resolve delays and bottlenecks to expanding market access for producers.