South Africa’s police ministers have cost taxpayers over R3 million in salaries in 2025

South Africa’s police ministers have cost South African taxpayers over R3 million in 2025 salaries so far, with Senzo Mchunu earning his full salary despite being on suspension.

However, this figure could be significantly higher if travel and protection services were include.

Mchunu was suspended by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged that a criminal syndicate had captured the country’s law enforcement and intelligence structures.

Mkhwanazi’s allegations also implicated former Police Minister Mchunu in interfering with sensitive police investigations and colluding with businesspeople to disband the Political Killings Task Team, which he has denied.

Ramaphosa announced that Mchunu would be suspended pending the investigation by the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is still ongoing.

The President announced that Wits Professor of Law Firoz Cachalia would be taking his place as Acting Police Minister and was sworn into office on 1 August.

At the time, Ramaphosa said that he was aware that Cachalia’s appointment meant that South Africans would be paying for two ministers and that he would “sort it out.” However, nothing has been done.

According to the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, members of the President’s cabinet receive R2.65 million per year.

However, because Mchunu has been earning his full salary as a minister since suspension, taxpayers have been footing the bill for two ministers.

The annual salary package boils down to roughly R224,166.67 per month. Based on this, both ministers cost the country R2.914 million by the end of October 2025 – 13 months’ worth of salaries.

To put this into perspective, remunerating the two public servants for the first 18 days of November has cost the country R269,000. This brings the total cost to over R3.183 million.

Should Mchunu still be earning his ministerial salary come the end of December and Cachalia still be acting minister, South Africans would have forked out R3.8 million to cover the cost of their salaries.

This is more than R1 million more than what is typically paid to a minister for a year’s service.

Nothing new to South Africa

However, the paid suspension of government officials is commonplace in South Africa and not unique to the police portfolio.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has paid out over R35 million to suspended employees over the past five years.

This is according to a response by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, to a written parliamentary question by Rise Mzansi Member of Parliament Songezo Zibi.

Kubayi said that her department had paid R35,310,106 to 59 employees who had been suspended in the past five financial years.

Similarly, the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, revealed that the Commissioner of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, Teboho Maruping, has been paid R1.4 million since being placed on precautionary suspension in September 2024.

Earlier this year, Mchunu informed Build One South Africa MP Mmusi Maimane that 11 police members were suspended with full pay as of 16 May 2025.

Mchunu said that the total cost of the officers’ suspensions up to that point was R5.02 million.

Most of this — R3.44 million — was paid to a lieutenant-general who had been suspended with full pay since 8 July 2022, nearly three years by that point.

Another lieutenant-general had cost the South African taxpayer R1.14 million since being suspended on 14 June 2024.