South Africa has 43 deputy ministers. More correctly, 42 deputy ministers, as the vacancy left when the DA’s Andrew Whitfield was fired on June 27 as deputy minister of trade, industry & competition has not been filled.
It is doubtful that any South African can name all 42 deputy ministers and their portfolios. Perhaps President Cyril Ramaphosa should be asked to do so, verbally, in parliament. He might surprise South Africans by succeeding.
Deputy ministers have no independent power to act. Despite their designation, they may not deputise during the absence of their ministers. Instead, other cabinet ministers must step in.
Deputy ministers perform (and may only perform) those duties delegated to them by their respective ministers, of whom there are 37.
To be more correct, South Africa has 38 cabinet ministers at the moment. Senzo Mchunu is the minister of police but has been on indefinite leave since July 13. Firoz Cachalia acts in the position vacated (temporarily?) by Mchunu.
Paying a cabinet member for more than three months and with no end in sight while he is on leave has no justification. The annual salary (excluding benefits and perks) of a cabinet minister is about R2.7m. Since July 13, Mchunu has received about R900,000. This is a big amount for doing nothing. But stranger things happen in South Africa.
On October 28 deputy police minister Cassel Mathale told parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system that no duties had been delegated to him by Mchunu. He said the same applies to the other deputy police minister, Polly Boshielo.
So, by his own admission, Mathale has been unemployed since June 2024. It seems that the same is true for Boshielo, but she should rather personally respond to this allegation before we speculate on the matter.
Deputy ministers perform (and may only perform) those duties delegated to them by their respective ministers
Mathale’s comment about his lack of gainful employment raises serious questions. As he is unemployed, I can only speculate about how he passes the time every day. Crosswords? Sudoku?
The annual salary of a South African deputy minister is about R2.2m. This excludes the cost of further benefits and perks such as official vehicles, housing and support staff. It also excludes the cost of VIP protection, which should in this instance be called VIUP — very important unemployed person protection.
Mathale’s admission of unemployment and his statement that Boshielo is also unemployed give reason for concern about other deputy ministers, their responsibilities and their employment status, if any. Whitfield’s position has been vacant for more than four months, with no consequences. The obvious conclusion is that the position of deputy minister of trade, industry & competition should be abolished, as there is no job to be done and the position is superfluous.
Given this vacancy and the positions of Mathale and Boshielo, there are 40 other deputy ministers and their activities to be worried about. Looking at these numbers, it has dawned on me that more than 10% of the 400 members of the National Assembly serve as deputy ministers.
Considering the ANC in isolation paints an even more shocking picture. The party has 159 members in the National Assembly, of whom 31 are deputy ministers. Nearly 20% of ANC members in the National Assembly therefore serve as deputy ministers. Adding 22 ANC cabinet members to the number indicates that nearly one-third of its members in the assembly serve in the executive.
The history of deputy ministers in South Africa goes back to 1958. When HF Verwoerd became prime minister, he created such positions as support for ministers with large departments. However, the ratio was one deputy minister for every three to five ministers. This initiative of Verwoerd has clearly got completely out of hand.
Now, there are several cabinet portfolios with more than one deputy minister. Mathale’s admission makes it obvious that many deputy ministerial positions are nothing but elaborate job-creation schemes for political cronies. Taxpayers carry the burden of this elaborate scheme, which keeps some people gainfully unemployed.
ActionSA has introduced a bill in parliament to abolish deputy ministerial positions. This bill has merit, given Mathale’s admission. But with more than 10% of the members of the National Assembly serving as deputy ministers, it is unfortunately very unlikely that the bill will pass.
Rossouw is an honorary professor at Wits Business School and an economist at Altitude Wealth
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