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Advocacy organisation Free SA has launched a campaign for a constitutional limit on the size of the cabinet, arguing the current constitution allows the president “excessive discretion” to expand the executive at taxpayers’ expense. It said the campaign forms part of its broader constitutional review submissions and proposes an amendment to section 91(3)(b) of the Constitution to limit the number of cabinet ministers to no more than 20. Currently, the president may appoint any number of ministers from among members of the National Assembly, “creating the potential for unnecessary cabinet expansion and political patronage”. The campaign comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa approved salary increases for ministers, deputy ministers and MPs. Ministers now earn about R2.79m a year and ordinary MPs more than R1.3m. South Africa’s current national executive consists of 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers. The size of the cabinet has become a key issue among opposition political parties such as ActionSA, the SA Federation of Trade Unions, think tank the Centre for Development and Enterprise, and organisations such as the Free Market Foundation. They have often called for it to be slashed, arguing that it is among the biggest in the world as it is larger than those of the UK, Germany, and Russia.Ramaphosa, however, has often defended the size of his cabinet, citing the need for inclusivity and balance within the government of national unity (GNU).Following the 2024 national elections, ANC leader Ramaphosa invited several opposition parties, including the DA, UDM, Freedom Front Plus and PAC, to join the GNU. Free SA said that as the country was entering an era of coalition politics, “the temptation to create additional ministerial positions to satisfy political interests rather than improve governance is greater than ever”. It said larger cabinets placed a significant financial burden on taxpayers through ministerial salaries, support staff, official residences, security, vehicles, and administrative structures, while often creating overlapping mandates and reducing accountability. “South Africans deserve a government that is focused on service delivery, not political accommodation. An unlimited cabinet creates opportunities for wasteful expansion and weakens accountability. A constitutional cap would help ensure that future governments remain lean, efficient and focused on delivering results for citizens,” Free SA spokesperson Gideon Joubert said. Joubert maintained that a smaller executive would strengthen governance by clarifying ministerial responsibilities, reducing duplication between departments and improving public oversight of government performance. “The organisation further contends that constitutional safeguards are necessary to prevent the executive from expanding purely to manage coalition dynamics rather than to serve the public interest. The proposed amendment would replace the current constitutional provision with wording that limits the president to appointing no more than 20 ministers from among members of the National Assembly,” Joubert said. “Every rand spent on unnecessary political appointments is a rand that cannot be spent on improving infrastructure, fixing public services or growing the economy. South Africa needs a government that works smarter, not a government that grows larger.” ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip has said it is time to reform SA’s “bloated cabinet”, a move that would save taxpayers an estimated R1.5bn. The party gazetted the Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill last year, aimed at reforming the executive. “If passed, this amendment would represent the most significant overhaul of the national cabinet since the dawn of democracy in 1994,” Trollip said. “At the heart of the amendment is the complete abolition of the role of deputy ministers — a move that will eliminate 43 redundant positions and save the country billions of rand. Deputy ministers have become nothing more than politically connected figureheads — glorified doormen and women — who serve party interests rather than the public good,” he said. Business Day
