The curious case of Cabanac

By Staff Writer

On Monday the mainstream media took the opportunity to pounce on the recent political appointment of Roman Cabanac as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen. We’ve had virtually no reporting on the other individuals who’ve been appointed in the same position within other ministries, but then those people aren’t white conservatives whose employment gives legacy journalists the opportunity to once again stoke race tensions online.

As some media reports have noted Mr Cabanac is well known as a YouTuber and podcaster, most recently on the news analysis and commentary show Morning Shot, and previously on the hit podcast the Renegade Report. Curiously Roman’s LLB degree, his work within the legal fraternity, and his experience having run multiple businesses over the years has not been reported on. 

Chief among the complaints of online commentators, and perpetual victims alike, has been that Cabanac’s appointment is somehow “controversial” because he holds opinions which they do not like. One claim goes as far as falsely and ridiculously accusing him of having sympathies towards Nazis on a podcast he hosted with a Jewish co-host. Others have fruitlessly tried to assert that Cabanac is a racist because of his mainstream positions on things like the economics of human resettlement, and jokes he has made about the costly renaming of airports.

In response to some of the reporting and reaction to his appointment Cabanac has stated that he is a “conservative, much like 80% of my South African brethren. My views are shared by most South Africans”. Roman went on to say that “agriculture is an inherently conservative endeavour” and that he would “not apologize for holding views that make South Africa better for my children” saying that he “took this role because I love my country and want my children to lead happy lives here”.

Roman, who grew up on a farm, notes that “while agriculture contributes 3% of GDP, the entire value chain contributes 14% of GDP and employs almost a million people”. He says that the “Minister wants to make agriculture the industry to boost economic growth and jobs” and despite his own widely reported cynicism regarding government in the past he insists that “it’s easy to sit outside and critique how the sausage is made…but actions define the results”, noting that his “perspective has changed somewhat [being] surrounded by hard working civil servants who want to make South Africa prosper”.

Regarding his outlook on the country Mr Cabanac explained that he has “always been a patriot…[has] made several videos arguing that South Africa is the best country on earth” and that he “accepted the role because I love my country…[and] if I can make more South Africans love it as much, I have done my job”.

Despite a flood of negativity from left wing media, think tanks, and online agitators, Roman did receive congratulatory wishes from many quarters including several prominent people in the private sector and the hugely successful musician and producer David Scott a.k.a The Kiffness.

Of note in all of this has been the desperation shown by media houses, NGO apparatchiks, and viral nobodies who have had little to glom onto since the formation of a counterintuitively stable Government of National Unity (GNU), which may over time hurtle less towards left wing oblivion. Long may it last.