SA's Political Leadership in Numbers

On 29 May 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa picked his new Cabinet. It includes 30 women and 34 men. There are 28 ministers and 30 deputy ministers. All but one are members of the ANC. (Note: The Cabinet doesn't include the deputy ministers but we have included them here for completeness.)

The president must choose the Cabinet ministers from the members of the National Assembly. No more than two can be people not already part of the National Assembly. President Ramaphosa included three party members not already in the National Assembly in his Cabinet. Parks Tau was on the Gauteng provincial list.

By June 14, nine MPs had resigned from the National Assembly. All are former Cabinet ministers who were not chosen by the president for Cabinet posts this time around. They are Tokozile Xasa, former sports minister, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, former state security minister, Susan Shabangu, former social development minister, Nomaindia Mfeketo, former human settlements minister, and Jeff Radebe, former energy minister, Derek Hanekom, former tourism minister, Bathabile Dlamini, former women’s minister, Siyabonga Cwele, former home affairs minister, and Mildred Oliphant, former labour minister.

South Africa ranks among the top few countries in which women make up a significant portion of the national parliament. In the UK's House of Commons 32% of the seats are held by women, and in Australia women hold 29% of the seats. Closer to home, Rwanda's national parliament is made up of more than 60% women, while Kenya's is at the lower end with 22% women.

Half of South Africa's Cabinet ministers are 57 or older while the average age of the members of the National Assembly is 50 years old. For a more detailed look at the ages of MPs see our Parliamentary visualisation.

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How much do members of parliament get paid per year?

R100k R500k R1m

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The members of the National Assembly each earn at least R1,106,940 per year. Some, such as Cabinet ministers are paid more than R2 million per year.

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Test yourself: hover over the chart above to move the green line. Move the green line to where it is you think the average working South African earns per year. When you've decided, click to mark the spot.

The average annual salary for people employed in the formal sector is R254,280 per year, or R21,190 a month*. That means that the approximately 400 members of the National Assembly all earn at least four times the salary of the average South African employed in the formal sector. This excludes the more than 27% of South Africans who are unemployed**. It also excludes those who work in the agricultural and informal sectors.

Sources: Africa Check, Africa Check, Government Gazette, Government Gazette, * Stats SA, ** Stats SA

A member of parliament will earn R1,106,940 per year, or R92,245 per month. MPs such as the National Assembly speaker will earn significantly more than other MPs. The speaker will earn R2,825,470 per year (R235,455 a month). Cabinet ministers will be paid R2,401,633 per year.