New ministers and deputies added to the cabinet in the government of national unity will cost taxpayers an additional R239m in 2025/26.
This was revealed by finance minister Enoch Godongwana in a parliamentary Q&A session.
“The allocation is for salaries of the executive, cost of support staff, official vehicles and goods and services,” Godongwana said.
“The cost for official vehicles was calculated based on the current threshold of R800,000 inclusive of VAT and security upgrades.”
The new cabinet size has been met with criticism since its formation in July. While Ramaphosa had planned to reduce his executive, the GNU saw the cabinet expand from 30 to 32 ministers and from 36 to 43 deputy ministers.
ActionSA MP Athol Trollip called it an “outrageous” financial burden on already overburdened taxpayers.
“In the face of a stagnant economy, where GDP contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter and annual growth limps along at a mere 0.3%, and with an adjustment budget reflecting a worrying misalignment of this government's priorities, it is nothing short of shameful that, instead of cutting wasteful expenditure on government excesses, the GNU has chosen to increase the allocation to fund luxury perks,” he said.
Trollip emphasised that ministers are public servants, not royalty, and should live accordingly.
“The jet-setting GNU’s insistence on wasteful spending is a slap in the face of every citizen who is forced to tighten their belt to make it through each month.”
ActionSA reiterated its demand for a reduced cabinet of no more than 20 ministers, with their perks minimised.
“It cannot be that South Africans bear the burden of paying for new ministries and their deputies, created solely to satisfy political egos and alliances.”
However, Godongwana explained that the need to form a GNU after the ANC lost its majority has hindered the immediate implementation of these reforms.
“Before the election there was a plan to reduce the number of departments and part of that also included restructuring some public entities. That programme is still in place.
“But a GNU requires accommodation of some of the critical players in \[its\] formation and therefore that necessitated the increase in the number of cabinet posts, but the strategic thrust of reorganising government remains on course,” Godongwana said.
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