A new campaign by Free SA is urging Parliament to amend the Constitution to cap Cabinet ministers at 20, warning that coalition politics could drive unnecessary expansion of the executive.
In answer to the current call by Parliament for proposed Constitutional amendments, Free SA has launched a campaign calling for a firm constitutional limit on the size of South Africa’s Cabinet, arguing that the current Constitution grants the President excessive discretion to expand the executive at taxpayers’ expense.
The campaign forms part of Free SA’s 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 twenty. Under the current wording, 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.
As South Africa enters an era of coalition politics, Free SA warns that the temptation to create additional ministerial positions to satisfy political interests rather than improve governance is greater than ever. Larger cabinets place 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.
