The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) says that it is looking to drastically cut the perks available to members of the executive – including ministers and deputy ministers.<\/p>\n
Presenting to parliament last week, the DPSA said that the revisions form part of the new ‘Guide for the Members of the Executive’ which replaced the old Ministerial Handbook in June 2019.<\/p>\n
“On 16 October 2019, the Guide was presented to Cabinet and a revised document is being finalised for presentation to the President before the end of the week,” it said.<\/p>\n
“Once the Guide for Members of the Executive is approved by the President, it will be made publicly available.”<\/p>\n
The DPSA said that some of the main areas relating to the review include:<\/p>\n
Pay freeze<\/strong><\/p>\n In his October medium-term budget policy statement, Finance minister Tito Mboweni said\u00a0government has to significantly reduce expenditure in goods and services as well as transfers if it is to stabilise debt by 2022\/23.<\/p>\n In the review accompanying the MTBPS statement, the National Treasury sets out a detailed analysis of spending on public\u2010sector wages.<\/p>\n It reveals that 29,000 public servants, plus members of the national executive, Members of Parliament, members of the provincial executive, among others, each earned more than R1 million last year.<\/p>\n After adjusting for inflation, the average government wage has risen by 66% in the last ten years, Mboweni said.<\/p>\n In his speech, Mboweni also called for a reduction in Board and Executive Management compensation and benefits.<\/p>\n He said President Cyril Ramaphosa has agreed to guidelines which will apply to members of the Cabinet and members of provincial executives.<\/p>\n These include that, in the foreseeable future, Cabinet, Premiers and MECs\u2019 salaries will be frozen at current levels, with the likelihood of an adjustment downwards.<\/p>\n
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