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Image above: President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo at the opening of Rand Water's Zuikerbosch System 5A water purification plant on 8 August 2025. Flickr/GovZA
Cut Cabinet waste, strengthen accountability: OUTA likes this bill
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) supports the Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill, 2025, a private Member’s bill being sponsored by MP Athol Trollip of ActionSA, which seeks to abolish the costly office of deputy minister, introduce parliamentary vetting of ministerial appointments, and allow motions of no confidence in individual ministers.
The draft bill was gazetted for public comment on 25 July and has yet to be introduced in Parliament.
Deputy ministers currently cost taxpayers at least R287 million per year in salaries and support staff alone. This excludes the significant extra burden of VIP protection, official residences, vehicles, and travel. OUTA believes these resources would be better spent on essential public services.
We recommend that the appointment of ministers follow the Chapter 9 institution model, which includes public nominations, transparent interviews, multi-party selection committees, and parliamentary approval. This would ensure ministers are appointed on merit, integrity, and competence, not political patronage.
“OUTA recognises the urgent need to address the excessive size and cost of the national executive, and to introduce robust checks and balances to safeguard against unfit appointments to ministerial office,” says OUTA’s submission to Parliament on this draft bill.
Deputy ministers are paid R2.215 million apiece, so the 43 positions set up last year cost about R95 million a year in salaries alone. To that cost must be added salaries for support staff at about R192 million, and an unknown extra cost for VIP protection, official residences, luxury vehicles, international travel and other perks.
“The abolition of these posts would free substantial resources for urgent socioeconomic priorities, while improving administrative efficiency,” says OUTA’s submission.
This bill represents a decisive step towards a leaner, more accountable government that works for the people, not at their expense.
More information
A copy of the submission is here.
The bill is here.
The current list of deputy ministers is here.
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In July 2025, we won a court order overturning the Karpowership generation licences, and effectively blocked this project (see more here).
In September 2024, we exposed the dodgy driving licence card machine contract and, as a result, the Minister of Transport moved to cancel it in March 2025 (see here).
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In May 2020, we had former SAA chair Dudu Myeni declared a delinquent director for life (see more here).
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We want to see South Africa’s tax revenue and public funds used for the benefit of all, not a greedy few.
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