ActionSA has submitted its Constitutional Amendment Bill directly to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his consideration, following the party’s direct question in the National Assembly on whether he and the African National Congress (ANC) would support the Bill.

The party on Wednesday said it submitted the Bill at Ramaphosa’s request, saying it looked forward to his, the ANC’s and the Government of National Unity’s support.

In July, ActionSA gazetted its notice to introduce the Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill, calling on South Africans to support the amendment, which would see a significant overhaul of the size of the South African executive.

Cabinet currently consists of 32 Ministers and 43 Deputy Ministers, which ActionSA has long described as “bloated”.

ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said the party hoped to abolish the “redundant role” of Deputy Ministers and to strengthen Parliamentary oversight.

On Tuesday, while answering questions in the National Assembly, Ramaphosa stated that since the advent of South Africa’s democracy in 1994, Deputy Ministers had played an “important” role in assisting Ministers in the performance of their functions and responsibilities.

“The Constitution provides for the appointment of Deputy Ministers to assist the members of the Cabinet. According to the Constitution, Deputy Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions.

“Ministers and their respective Deputy Ministers agree on the delegation of responsibility in certain areas of work in terms of departments’ Annual Performance Plans, ensuring that there is consistent political attention and oversight,” he said.

Ramaphosa explained that following the May 2024 elections, there was a need to ensure that the National Executive was inclusive of all the parties to the GNU, therefore, it was not possible to reduce the number of portfolios in the National Executive.

“We have sought to ensure that the National Executive is representative of the people of South Africa, giving due consideration to gender, youth, demographics and regional distribution,” he said.

He highlighted that Deputy Ministers appointed in June 2024 continued to “add value to the work of government”.

Trollip noted that despite Ramaphosa’s insistence that Deputy Ministers served an important role, the reality was different.

“…they are in fact redundant, often sit in committees without contributing meaningfully, hold no executive authority and mostly lack the experience or expertise relevant to the portfolios they are assigned,” he said.

ActionSA also highlighted its Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill, aimed at slashing the excessive costs of South Africa’s Cabinet.

ActionSA said it would await the feedback of Ramaphosa, the ANC, and the GNU coalition partners as they studied what it termed an “important legislative effort”.