Ramaphosa continues to seesaw over the fate of deputy ministers

The President's longstanding vow of a smaller, more efficient executive is on trial as ActionSA tables a bill to remove all 43 deputy ministers, which would potentially save taxpayers millions.

- By Nonkululeko Njilo

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signalled willingness to consider ActionSA's proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill, which aims to scrap all 43 deputy minister positions.

If passed by Parliament, this could save the country hundreds of millions of rands in taxpayers' money.

South Africa's executive is among the largest in the world. With each deputy earning R2.2-million and overseeing a team nearly as large as that of ministers, who typically manage about 10 staff members, eliminating deputy ministers could drastically reduce the state's annual spending.

Salaries, benefits and operational costs continue to pile up, even as the country faces mounting fiscal pressures.

The debate over a bloated Cabinet, which includes ministers, and the executive, which also includes deputies, has lingered since 2018, when Ramaphosa first took office and promised a more efficient, streamlined government. That promise has largely fallen flat. Seven years later, the executive is even larger. Ramaphosa now cites political realities as the reason.

A wish ignored

During a parliamentary question-and-answer session on Tuesday, 9 September, Ramaphosa responded to a question from ActionSA MP Athol Trollip by acknowledging the longstanding concerns about the size of his executive.