Deputy ministers cost taxpayers R287 million per year

Deputy ministers cost the taxpayer at least R287 million per year, and with the South African government often citing cash crunches and austerity measures, calls to scrap the position entirely are growing.

Following the 2024 general elections and the formation of a 10-party coalition, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed South Africa’s largest-ever national executive: a Deputy President, 32 ministers, and 43 deputy ministers.

“Nobody would really mind how large the cabinet is if there were no financial implications attached,” wrote sessional law lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Paul Kaseke. “However, that is far from the case.”

Deputy ministers are paid an annual salary of R2.215 million each, so the 43 positions set up last year cost about R95 million a year in salaries alone.

To that cost must be added salaries for support staff at about R192 million, and an unknown extra cost for VIP protection, official residences, luxury vehicles, international travel, and other perks.

“Critics may well argue that saving [money].. by cutting out deputy ministers is a drop in the ocean… but every cent saved by the state counts,” said Kaseke.

Political economics lecturer at Wits Business School Professor Jannie Rossouw said, “Truthfully, I am not sure what a deputy minister actually does, and there are now 43 of them.”

Deputy ministers are often mistaken for cabinet members, but the Constitution makes it clear they are not.

Section 85 assigns executive authority only to the president and cabinet, while Section 91 defines cabinet as the President, Deputy President, and ministers.

Deputy ministers do not ordinarily attend cabinet meetings, nor can they act in place of absent ministers.

Section 98 requires the president to appoint another serving cabinet minister as acting minister. Appointing a deputy minister instead would be unlawful.

This issue arose when President Ramaphosa placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on garden leave pending the outcomes of an investigation into serious allegations levelled against him.

Ramaphosa then named Prof. Firoz Cachalia, a non-MP and non-minister, as Acting Police Minister.

Until Cachalia was sworn in, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe temporarily oversaw the police portfolio as well.

Therefore, “what do deputy ministers do to earn that money?” asked Kaseke.

While there is still a lack of clarity about the exact duties of deputies and worries over the price to state coffers, Kaseke argues that another pressing issue arises.

“There are no measurable checks and balances to ensure that they actually do any work,” he said.

“While both ministers and deputy ministers are accountable to parliament for the exercise of their functions, only ministers need to submit full and regular reports to parliament,” said Kaseke.

Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill looks to slash the executive

ActionSA has since introduced a bill to Parliament that seeks to overhaul South Africa’s executive, increase Parliamentary oversight, and allow more expert appointments.

If passed, the Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill, tabled by ActionSA Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip, has some significant provisions which:

• Abolishes the role of Deputy Ministers;
• Requires parliamentary vetting of all Cabinet appointments;
• Empowers the National Assembly to remove individual Ministers;
• Increases the number of Ministers who can be appointed from outside Parliament.

Trollip said the bill would be the biggest overhaul of the Executive since 1994, cutting 43 deputy ministers to save billions and “right-size government.” He argued these posts are redundant and wasteful.

“The abolition of these posts would free substantial resources for urgent socioeconomic priorities, while improving administrative efficiency,” said the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) in its submission of the gazetted bill out for public comment.

“OUTA recognises the urgent need to address the excessive size and cost of the national executive, and to introduce robust checks and balances to safeguard against unfit appointments to ministerial office,” it added.

The bill also proposes parliamentary vetting of Cabinet appointments and National Assembly votes on nominees, which Trollip said would end “late-night reshuffles and recycled deployments without oversight.”

The bill further contends that the proliferation of departments, each with ministers and deputy ministers, creates overlapping responsibilities and blurred accountability.

According to ActionSA, this structure results in poor performance, as no one takes direct responsibility for failures.

Other provisions include allowing Parliament to remove individual ministers through motions of no confidence, and expanding the number of non-MPs who can serve as ministers from two to four, to bring in professional expertise.

OUTA said that “we recommend that the appointment of ministers follow the Chapter 9 institution model, which includes public nominations, transparent interviews, multi-party selection committees, and parliamentary approval.”

“This would ensure ministers are appointed on merit, integrity, and competence, not political patronage.”

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