ActionSA has launched a scathing critique of South Africa’s bloated executive, announcing a bold Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks to overhaul the size and structure of Cabinet, starting with the complete abolition of all 43 Deputy Minister posts.

In a statement on Sunday, ActionSA MP, Athol Trollip, described deputy ministers as a “financial waste,” arguing that their inability to act in the absence of ministers renders them functionally redundant.

“If deputy ministers cannot step in during a crisis, what purpose do they serve beyond being instruments of cadre deployment?” he asked.

This move comes amid renewed scrutiny of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet management following a series of high-profile missteps.

The most recent being the suspension of Police Minister Bheki Cele, referred to erroneously in ActionSA’s release as Senzo Mchunu, amid allegations of interference in investigations.

Despite the presence of two deputy ministers in the police ministry, Ramaphosa opted to appoint an outsider, Prof. Firoz Cachalia, as acting minister.

Until Cachalia is sworn in, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe holds the role in a temporary capacity.

Trollip also cited the controversial appointment of Thembi Simelane—implicated in the VBS scandal—as Minister of Justice before a midnight portfolio switch with Mmamoloko Kubayi.

ActionSA has since laid criminal charges against Simelane.

ActionSA’s Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill proposes four key reforms, including abolishing all deputy minister roles, introducing parliamentary vetting for all ministerial appointments, empowering parliament to remove individual ministers through motions of no confidence and expanding non-MP appointments, allowing up to four ministers to be selected from outside parliament to attract technical expertise.

These constitutional changes form part of ActionSA’s broader “Cabinet Reform Package,” first unveiled in March 2025.

A companion bill, the Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill, has also been formally tabled.

It seeks to strip the President of unchecked power over the Ministerial Handbook and impose tighter scrutiny on perks and privileges.

ActionSA said the reforms could save taxpayers R1.5 billion annually, funds it believes should be redirected to public services and infrastructure instead of sustaining what it calls “an overstaffed, underperforming executive.”

With 75 ministers and deputies, South Africa’s executive remains one of the largest in the world—a structure critics argue is unsustainable amid sluggish growth and a deepening fiscal crisis.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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