Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says no quantified fiscal analysis has been conducted on potential savings from reducing the number of deputy ministers or cutting expenditure on VIP protection.
This comes after a written parliamentary question asked by Bosa leader Mmusi Maimane, who sought clarity on whether such measures had been considered as part of the R12bn in targeted expenditure savings announced in the 2026 budget.
In his reply, Godongwana said the R12bn in savings did not include any reductions related to deputy ministers or VIP protection. Instead, the savings are derived from “improved targeting and the reduction of fraud in the social grants system” as well as the scaling down of the public transport network grant.
The Treasury further confirmed it had not conducted any quantified analysis on the potential savings associated with reducing deputy ministerial posts or adjusting VIP protection allocations. It said such savings “can only be estimated once an executive decision or proposal is taken” on these matters.
On whether such analysis would be undertaken in the future, Godongwana said it “may be conducted” as part of the broader National Macro Reorganisation of Government, a reform process led by the department of public service and administration in conjunction with the Presidency.
What ministers and deputy ministers cost
The response comes amid ongoing political debate over government spending on executive structures and security. According to ActionSA’s GNU tracker, the total cost of VIP protection for the president, deputy president, ministers, deputy ministers and other dignitaries stands at R3.7bn a year.
The party has also raised concern about the size and cost of the executive under the GNU. It says the cabinet expanded from 30 to 32 ministers and from 36 to 43 deputy ministers, increasing the annual cost of the executive by about R239m.
ActionSA’s data indicates each minister costs about R8.9m a year, including salary and support staff, while each deputy minister costs about R7.4m annually.
Additional costs include state-provided residences — with properties in Cape Town averaging R4.4m and in Pretoria about R2m — as well as official vehicles, where the price cap has increased from R800,000 to R1.1m under the GNU.
However, Scopa chair Songezo Zibi said the minister’s response should not be read as a failure by the Treasury to interrogate spending, but rather as a reflection of how executive authority is structured in law.
“There is a difference between saying the Treasury has not done the costing, and saying it has not done the costing because there is no executive decision to cost,” Zibi said.
He argued that the Treasury cannot independently model savings linked to reducing deputy ministers or VIP protection in the absence of a clear policy directive by the president.
“You cannot make an assessment of a policy or executive decision that does not exist. What must come first is a request from the president indicating that he is considering reducing the number of deputy ministers or changing allocations, and asking the Treasury to quantify the savings,” he said.
Zibi added any such exercise undertaken without political direction would be “purely academic”, as the finance minister does not have the authority to determine the size or structure of the executive.
In terms of the constitution, the president has the power to appoint, assign functions to and dismiss ministers and deputy ministers, and may determine the size of the executive. Deputy ministers are appointed to assist ministers and form part of the broader executive structure shaped by the presidency.
Zibi said this means decisions about reducing the number of deputy ministers — and the associated costs — fall within the president’s prerogative, not the Treasury’s.
“The finance minister cannot solve a problem that does not formally exist. Parliament also does not have the authority to reduce deputy ministers,” he said.
He further noted that the size of the executive is linked to how the government is structured, including the number of ministries and the distribution of responsibilities.
“You cannot separate deputy ministers from the structure of the cabinet. Whether you need one minister, two deputies or fewer portfolios altogether depends on how the president defines the work of government,” he said.
Zibi added that, in his view, the executive may already be larger than necessary, pointing to the number of ministries and deputy ministers currently in place, as well as the size of the presidency itself.
“If the concern is about the cost of the executive, then the question should be directed to the president, because that is where the authority lies,” he said.
The minister’s spokesperson, Mfuneko Toyana, was contacted for comment but declined to respond.
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