Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, has denied accusations that his new administration is overstuffed and living extravagant lifestyles. He has vowed to restructure the government.
President Ramaphosa was questioned in parliament on Thursday by Democratic Alliance (DA) chairman John Steenhuisen about whether it was appropriate for ministers to “live like rock stars” while the general populace suffers.
“[They have] 98 mansions worth over a billion rand, free generators, free electricity and high-end luxury vehicles,” Mr Steenhuisen said.
The President replied, “Well, I don’t know about rock stars.” When asked if South Africa had the world’s biggest cabinet, Mr. Ramaphosa responded that it was “basically in line with others” and disputed the opposition leader’s assertions to the contrary.
The DA has stated that it will protest on Monday to against the “luxurious” lifestyles of ministers, municipal officials, and others, as reported by local media.
Early this week, the president made adjustments to his executive, including the establishment of two new departments.
Ministers in South Africa receive yearly salaries of up to $135,000 plus perks like personal staff and luxuries vehicles, making them some of the highest paid in all of Africa. Given the state of the economy, there has frequently been public anger over their pay.
