ActionSA on Wednesday reiterated its demand for a “lean, effective” Cabinet of no more than 20 ministers, with all deputy minister positions abolished and ministerial perks drastically curtailed.

This is in response to ActionSA’s Parliamentary question to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in which the party asked what the total costs are for all new ministries and deputy ministries for the seventh administration.

Godongwana revealed that the salaries, staff, vehicles and related perks for newly appointed ministers and deputy ministers is R239-million over the 2025 Medium‐Term Expenditure Framework.

The cost for official vehicles was calculated based on the current threshold of R800 000 inclusive of VAT and security upgrades.

ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip highlighted that while austerity measures had reduced critical funding to vital programmes and sectors, it seemed to have “conspicuously failed” to extend to the political establishment.

Trollip said taxpayers were burdened with the costs of the African National Congress-Democratic Alliance (ANC-DA) coalition, which saw the Cabinet expand from 30 to 32 Ministers and from 36 to 43 Deputy Ministers.

“It cannot be that South Africans bear the burden of paying for new ministries and their deputies, created solely to satisfy political egos and alliances. In the face of a stagnant economy, where GDP contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter and annual growth limps along at a mere 0.3%, and with an adjustment budget reflecting a worrying misalignment of this government's priorities, it is nothing short of shameful that, instead of cutting wasteful expenditure on government excesses, the GNU has chosen to increase the allocation to fund luxury perks,” pointed out Trollip.

He said ministers were public servants, not royalty, and must live as such.

“The jet-setting GNU’s insistence on wasteful spending is a slap in the face of every citizen who is forced to tighten their belt to make it through each month,” he added.