/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

ActionSA can reveal the staggering cost of South Africa’s bloated cabinet expansion, which will burden taxpayers with an additional R239 million annually, cumulatively exceeding R1 billion over the current term.

In response to ActionSA’s Parliamentary Question, the Minister of Finance revealed that the salaries, staff, and related perks for newly appointed Ministers and Deputy Ministers will alone drive the staggering R239 million cost, including an indefensible R800,000 per ministry for luxury vehicles, a revelation that underscores the outrageous financial burden placed on already overburdened taxpayers.

While austerity measures have slashed critical funding to vital programmes and sectors, they have conspicuously failed to extend to the political establishment. Instead, the cost of the ANC-DA grand coalition, which saw the cabinet expand from 30 to 32 Ministers and from 36 to 43 Deputy Ministers, has been unjustly passed on to taxpayers, who are now burdened with funding an increasingly bloated government.

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 adjustments budget reflecting a worrying misalignment of this governments 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.

Frankly, Ministers are public servants, not royalty, and must live as such. 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 reiterates its demand for a lean, effective cabinet of no more than 20 Ministers, with all Deputy Minister positions abolished and ministerial perks drastically curtailed. 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.

Issued by ActionSA Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip