- \n
- Requiring oversight by Parliament and an independent commission.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Mandating transparency through public disclosure and regular reviews.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Beesley argues the changes could save taxpayers R1.5 billion annually and form part of ActionSA\u2019s broader plan to abolish deputy ministers altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alan-Beesley-ActionSA-1024x576.png\")
<\/a>ActionSA MP Alan Beesley with the Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Expensive trips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Among the most striking examples he cited is Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie\u2019s R4.8 million in international travel costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McKenzie defended the expense, saying flying business class was necessary to avoid illness on long flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This included R488,495 in travel and accommodation for a receptionist who accompanied the Deputy Minister to both the Olympics and Paralympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beesley contrasted this with his own experience in the private sector: \u201cI never travelled with a secretary and opted for economy class and modest accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that some athletes miss tours due to a lack of funding, while staff enjoy expensive overseas trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also questioned the necessity of sending ministers to events like book fairs in Havana, when virtual options are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public outrage intensified after it was revealed that Deputy President Paul Mashatile and his wife spent R956,057 on a four-day hotel stay in Japan, funded by taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“These are just some examples of reckless and out of touch spending. So many houses could have been built for the needy, lasting them for life, with what they pay for a couple of nights. It’s absurd,” said Beesley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Departmental spending breakdowns show International Relations and Cooperation leading with R21.63 million, followed by Human Settlements at R16.38 million, and The Presidency at R13.34 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three departments, Land Reform, Social Development, and The Presidency, have yet to report figures for the period, while the Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities failed to disclose her travel costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-17-1024x852.png\")
<\/a>Travel expenditure since July 2024, except for Land Reform and Rural Development, Social Development, the Presidency, and Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n South Africa’s huge cabinet and calls for reform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Repeated calls to trim South Africa\u2019s bloated cabinet, including from President Cyril Ramaphosa himself and parties like the DA, have come to nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The post-election Government of National Unity (GNU) has produced the largest executive in the country’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramaphosa\u2019s 2024 executive consists of 77 members, up from 65 previously. It includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The President.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Deputy President.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 32 Ministers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 43 Deputy Ministers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Two new ministries and seven deputy positions were added with members from various parties, including ANC, DA, IFP, PA, PAC, UDM, FF Plus, AL Jama-ah, and GOOD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data compiled by journalism outlet The Outlier shows South Africa\u2019s cabinet is nearly double the size of Germany\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is despite having a significantly smaller population (60 million vs 84 million) and an economy worth less than 10% of Germany\u2019s $4 trillion GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While South Africa\u2019s executive is smaller than those of China, India, or Brazil, those countries have far larger populations and economies to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ActionSA has slammed the expansion, calling the executive\u2019s scale and spending \u201cunsustainable and indefensible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It maintains there \u201cshould not be more than 20\u201d ministers, warning that overlapping roles breed \u201cabsolute confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are just too many captains on the board and nobody actually is responsible for anything,\u201d Beesley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe smaller you make it, the more accountability there would be. It\u2019s a win-win on several fronts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-16-1024x1024.png\")
<\/a>Graphic: The Outlier<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-18.png\")
<\/a>Graphic: The Outlier<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ActionSA has revealed that ministers’ and deputies’ travel costs since July 2024 have cost the taxpayer over R200 million, prompting calls for reform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":787226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[19493,22784,22783,20009,20008,853,9657],"class_list":["post-827009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-actionsa","tag-alan-beesley","tag-enhanced-cut-cabinet-perks-bill","tag-gnu","tag-government-of-national-unity","tag-south-africa","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827009"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":828032,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827009\/revisions\/828032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Mandating transparency through public disclosure and regular reviews.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alan-Beesley-ActionSA.png\")
<\/a>