Speaker, last week the Minister of Finance encouraged the executive to focus on employment on the frontline where services are delivered to the communities.
With the changes that have now been made, we have one of the biggest governments in the world, relative to the size of the population and the economy. The executive now consists of 68 members, including the President. The accelerated use of state resources in accommodating this bloated Cabinet is going to precipitate an enormous crisis.
The new executive, with four new deputy posts created, will push the cost of running Cabinet, already at R1 billion, even higher. South Africa has just emerged from being sapped by a public sector strike about state employee salaries. The government said then that the envelope was empty.
Now suddenly, this government that pleaded poverty then, can splurge as it is doing now. The government is spending an ever-increasing portion of the national income on itself. This is neither desirable nor sustainable.
To set things in perspective, the Cabinet of the United States includes the President, Vice-President and 15 Cabinet Ministers. Nigeria, with more than triple South Africa's population, has 38 Cabinet Ministers. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]