Sunday Times reports that more than six months after minister of agriculture John Steenhuisen, who is also DA leader, asked Roman Cabanac, chief of staff in his department, to resign, the controversial, right-leaning podcaster is still holding on to his R1.4m job.

Sources in the DA and the government last week raised alarm over Cabanac’s continued employment after it emerged that the State Security Agency (SSA) had declined to give him top-level security clearance because of his dual French citizenship. 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. For his part, Cabanac maintains that he is staying put in the ministry while he negotiates over his conditions of his service. A DA insider said there was bafflement as to why Steenhuisen was “dilly-dallying” in not firing Cabanac. Steenhuisen’s spokesperson Joylene van Wyk said on Saturday that the minister’s office had not yet received the SSA report on Cabanac. 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.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabo Mokone at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)

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