President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently considering a new proposal which could see his executive reduced dramatically, from 72 to 40 members.<\/p>\n
According to a report by the Sunday Times<\/a><\/strong>, as many as 10 ministerial positions could get the axe – with the new executive made up of only 25 ministers and 15 deputy ministers.<\/p>\n A source close to the presidency said that deputy ministers will likely be the hardest hit, with\u00a0Ramaphosa reportedly having decided that there should be no deputy ministers in non-essential departments.<\/p>\n A second source said that Ramaphosa is also likely to\u00a0merge a number of departments to cut down on expenditure, as part of a drive to save money.<\/p>\n Presidential spokesperson,\u00a0Khusela Diko, told the Sunday paper that while the plan has not yet been finalised, it is likely to come after the national elections on 8 May.<\/p>\n Ramaphosa’s first cabinet reshuffle came in February last year, only 11 days after he was elected as president of the country. His predecessor, Jacob Zuma, made 11.<\/p>\n Ramaphosa said at the time that government would retain its existing ministries and departments until a review was made at a later date.<\/p>\n The president made a number of significant changes, notably the announcement of David Mabuza as deputy-president, the reshuffling of Malusi Gigaba as finance minister, and the re-introduction of Pravin Gordhan into cabinet.<\/p>\n Nhlanhla Nene was re-appointed as finance minister, marking a dramatic comeback after being sacked by former president Jacob Zuma in 2015.<\/p>\n Bloated cabinet<\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa’s cabinet is currently one of the largest in the world.<\/p>\n The\u00a0US currently has the equivalent of 15 ministers, Kenya the equivalent of 18 ministers and the United Kingdom the equivalent of\u00a0 21 ministers.<\/p>\n As a result, the size of the executive has been a major sticking point\u00a0for opposition parties.<\/p>\n Notably, the cabinet ballooned from around 50 members under Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, to 72 members under Zuma.<\/p>\n