South Africa’s recent Parliamentary vote for the value-added tax (VAT) increase has reignited a long-standing debate: why does the country need one of the largest national executives in the world?
With 77 members, South Africa’s executive far exceeds those of economic giants like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Critics argue that instead of addressing wasteful spending and mismanagement, the government is raising taxes to sustain an oversized executive.
Despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s earlier pledge to trim down the executive, the cabinet has grown to include 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers under his and Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s leadership.
This is within a public sector already carrying the third-highest wage bill as a percentage of GDP globally.
In 2019, the Department of Public Service and Administration submitted a report to the President on the state’s macro-reorganisation and called for reducing the cabinet – which Ramaphosa said he planned to do.
However, the opposite occurred.
The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) has called for a significant reduction in the number of ministers in South Africa’s government and a fundamental overhaul of the Presidency.
“The state’s capacity to develop policies and deliver public services and programmes has been undermined by systemic corruption, too many compromised party loyalists, inadequate skills at critical levels, and a lack of accountability for poor performance and wrongdoing,” said CDE executive director Ann Bernstein.
“At the same time, government has taken on more responsibilities, creating new government departments and public entities.”
“Adding extra layers of bureaucracy and parallel management structures has made it harder to take decisions and coordinate key actors to deliver on outcomes.”
South Africa
South Africa, with a population of around 63.2 million and a $418.05 billion GDP (nominal, 2025 est.), has a Cabinet consisting of 34 members.
This includes the President, Deputy and 32 ministers.
The portfolios of the ministers are:
Electricity and Energy
Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Minister in the Presidency
Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
Agriculture
Land Reform and Rural Development
Basic Education
Communications and Digital Technologies
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Defence and Military Veterans
Employment and Labour
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment
Finance
Health
Science and Technology and Innovation
Higher Education
Home Affairs
Human Settlements
International Relations and Cooperation
Justice and Constitutional Development
Correctional Services
Mineral and Petroleum Resources
Police
Public Service and Administration
Public Works and Infrastructure
Small Business Development
Social Development
Sports, Arts and Culture
Tourism
Trade, Industry and Competition
Transport
Water and Sanitation
These 32 ministers are supported by 43 deputy ministers.
Wits Business School senior lecturer Paul Kaseke previously wrote that “nobody would really mind how large the cabinet is if there were no financial implications attached”.
However, these ministerial and deputy positions do not come cheap to the taxpayer. Their salaries alone – excluding perks – cost the taxpayer around R181.33 million in the past year.
Position
Number of positions
2024/25 annual salary (excluding perks) per position
Total
Minister
32
R2,689,937
R86,077,984
Deputy Minister
43
R2,215,220
R95,254,460
Total
75
R181,332,444
Additionally, calculations from BusinessTech showed that taxpayers are coughing up at least R467.33 million on the salaries of support staff of the country’s 75 Ministers and Deputies per year.
This is up by around R80.33 million from the R387 million estimation for the previous administration.
In addition, according to a Parliamentary Q&A, South African taxpayers spent over R553 million annually on VIP protection, international travel, vehicles, and alternative utilities for the previous administration’s 30 Ministers and 34 Deputy Ministers.
This figure is expected to rise sharply, as Ramaphosa has since added 11 more positions
United States of America
The United States of America, with a population of around 340 million, has 15 ministries – less than half the number of South Africa’s 32.
Meanwhile, the United States’ nominal GDP is the largest in the world – sitting at $30.34 trillion in 2025.
Their ministers (called Secretaries) are made up of:
State
Treasury
Defence
Attorney General
Interior
Agriculture
Commerce
Labour
Health and Human Services
Housing and Urban Development
Transportation
Energy
Education
Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security
The president may designate additional positions to be members of the Cabinet, which can vary under each president. Cabinet members are not in the line of succession like secretaries and are not necessarily officers of the United States.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, with a similar population of 68.35 million, has 22 people in its Cabinet – 20 if you exclude the Prime Minister and his deputy.
The United Kingdom’s GDP remains significantly larger than South Africa’s, estimated to reach $3.730 trillion in 2025.
Many of the Cabinet officials serve multiple roles.
The Prime Minister also has the title of First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and the Minister for the Union, while the Deputy Prime Minister serves as Secretary of State [Minister] for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The other 20 Cabinet officials are:
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Home Department
Defence
Lord Chancellor and Justice
Health and Social Care
Education and Minister for Women and Equalities
Energy Security and Net Zero
Work and Pensions
Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade
Science, Innovation and Technology
Transport
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Culture, Media and Sport
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
Japan
Japan, with a population of around 125 million and a GDP of $4.4 trillion, has 20 Cabinet members, including the Prime Minister.
Ministers serve multiple portfolios, including:
Internal Affairs and Communications
Justice
Foreign Affairs
Finance, State for Financial Services, Overcoming Deflation
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Health, Labour and Welfare
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Economy, Trade and Industry, State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in charge of Water Cycle Policy, World Horticultural Exhibition Yokohama 2027
Environment, State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
Defence
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Digital Transformation, in charge of Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reforms, Digital Garden City Nation Vision, Administrative Reform, Civil Service Reform, State for Regulatory Reform
Reconstruction, in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, in charge of Building National Resilience, Territorial Issues, State for Disaster Management and Ocean Policy
Policies Related to Children, Measures for Declining Birthrate, Youth’s Empowerment, Gender Equality, in charge of Women’s Empowerment, Cohesive Society, Measures for Loneliness and Isolation
Economic Revitalization, New Capitalism, Startups, Infectious Disease Crisis Management, Social Security Reform, State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Economic Security, State for “Cool Japan” Strategy, Intellectual Property Strategy, Science and Technology Policy, Space Policy
State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Regional Revitalisation, Ainu-Related Policies, and World Expo 2025
Canada
Canada, with a population of over 40.1 million and a GDP of over $2.14 trillion, has a Cabinet of 24 members, including the Prime Minister.
This includes:
International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada
Foreign Affairs and International Development
Finance
Innovation, Science and Industry
National Defence
Indigenous Services
Energy and Natural Resources
President of the Treasury Board
Canadian Culture and Identity, Parks Canada and Quebec Lieutenant
Transport and Internal Trade
Health
Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Chief Government Whip
Jobs and Families
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Environment and Climate Change
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Veterans Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency
Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Democratic Institutions
Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development
Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement
