Looking at some of the Ministers’ responses, the Minister of Employment and Labour and her deputies maintain 23 staff members, with an annual R17.8 million remuneration price tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister of Agriculture has a staff of 18 people across both offices, costing R14.2 million annually, while the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation oversees 22 staff members with a total salary bill of over R15 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“While we await responses from the rest of the ministers in cabinet, we can estimate that the cost to pay salaries in private offices will exceed R420 million per year,” said BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the salaries of the ministers and deputy ministers themselves are included, this figure increases to over R600 million per year in salaries alone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solomons said the party “is deeply concerned about the size, cost, and bloated staffing of ministers’ private offices,” given the strain on the country’s fiscus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The figures expose an excessive drain on taxpayers’ resources, while ordinary South Africans continue to struggle with unemployment, poor service delivery, and a housing crisis,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africa’s large executive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africa\u2019s largest-ever national executive was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on June 30, 2024, after weeks of intense negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first time in South Africa\u2019s democratic history, no single party obtained an outright majority in the general elections, with the incumbent African National Congress (ANC) falling to around 40% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ANC needed to arrange a coalition if it wanted to join the new government, which it labeled a \u2018Government of National Unity (GNU)’ made up of 10 parties represented in the National Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going against a 2019 report by the Department of Public Service and Administration previous promises of reducing South Africa\u2019s oversized executive, Ramaphosa looked to accommodate the wants of the ANC, its alliance partners, and members of the GNU and increased its size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the course of the sixth democratic administration, we indicated our intention to reduce the number of portfolios in the national executive [however]\u2026 this has not been possible,\u201d said Ramaphosa during the cabinet announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are now 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers from members of the ANC, DA, IFP, PA, PAC, UDM, FF Plus, Al Jama-ah, and GOOD parties.<\/p>\n\n\n
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