Geordin Hill-Lewis reveals 3 Ministries he will cut immediately

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said he would reduce the size of the cabinet if he becomes President, starting with three Ministries.

They are the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, the Small Business Department, and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.

He shared this information during a question-and-answer session at the 2026 Biznews Conference at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg.

The Democratic Alliance has previously promised to cut the number of ministries and save taxpayers’ money if it came to power. 

The DA’s Vision 2029 programme proposed a streamlined, service-delivery-oriented national government comprising 15 cabinet ministries.

“If elected to the national government, we would save R4.6 billion per year simply by reorganising the executive into a cabinet of 15 ministries,” it said.

It lambasted the cabinet’s size and the money taxpayers spent on this bloated executive. “Let’s be honest: our cabinet has become obscene,” it said.

“Many cabinet positions are unnecessary and often used as political rewards rather than to serve an important function.”

After the 2024 national elections in South Africa, the DA joined forces with other parties and formed a government of national unity.

Since then, the DA has gone quiet on its proposal to cut the cabinet to 15 Ministries and save on staff, bodyguards, luxury cars, first-class flights, and five-star hotel stays.

However, at the 2026 Biznews Conference, Hill-Lewis was asked whether the DA still believes South Africa should have only 15 ministries.

“The President gets to pick the size and makeup of the cabinet, but we still absolutely believe that the cabinet should be much smaller,” he said.

“Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of portfolios that should be cut from the cabinet,” he added.

“There are the Department of Women, Children, and People with Disabilities, Small Business Department, and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.”

“There are a whole number of government departments that I can think of that can just go absolutely.”

“I don’t know if that gets you all the way down to fifteen, but it certainly gets you much closer.”