MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

R30 Billion per year on Millionaire Managers

By

Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has established that, every year, the government spends close to R30 billion in public money to fund the millionaire lifestyles of 27 650 managers in the public service. This staggering expenditure emerged from a series of parliamentary questions asked by the DA over the past few months. It also illustrates just how top-heavy the South African state has become as a consequence of the ANC’s cadre deployment policy.

According to the Minister of Public Service and Administration, the government currently spends R7.2 billion per year on middle managers in provincial governments, R6.1 billion on senior managers in provinces, R8.1 billion on middle managers in national government, and R8.3 billion on senior managers in national government. On average, each of the 9 774 senior managers in national and provincial government takes home R1.4 million per year, with the highest level managers being paid just under R2 million per year.

This is in sharp contrast to the average annual salary of R169 466 paid to a police officer, the average teacher’s salary of R273 209, and the average R302 000 paid to a nurse per year. This vulgar expenditure on millionaire managers shows that the ANC is more interested in maintaining the luxury lifestyles of its cadres – many of whom have been purposefully deployed to managerial positions to capture the state – than in delivering the quality frontline services that South Africans deserve.

If the government cut the number of managers in the public service by half, we could immediately hire an additional 175 000 police officers, 54 000 teachers or 49 000 nurses.

In light of these worrying new figures, the DA reiterates our call for a comprehensive public expenditure review and the eradication of cadre deployment. The government must urgently rightsize the state by drastically reducing the number of managers in the public service and instead spending those billions on the frontline service delivery workers that create opportunities for citizens to prosper.

Regards

Dr Leon Schreiber MP
DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration

The following two tabs change content below.

Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.