Mashaba unveils 'dream team' cabinet ahead of elections

Mashaba unveiled former Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip as the minister for land affairs and party chairperson Michael Beaumont as the public enterprises minister.

The former President of the Health Professions Council of South Africa, Dr Kgosi Letlape, will head up the health department.

Speaking in Johannesburg on Monday, Mashaba said an ActionSA government will be appointed on merit and not political connections.

"We will not engage in cadre deployment, nepotism and cronyism. We will only appoint people on merit and with impeccable track records, with a commitment to clean governance and service delivery.

"Today, we are not paying lip service to our commitment to ethical leaders, but putting words to action."

Mashaba said the candidates have undergone an extensive and rigorous selection process.

"We spent countless hours interviewing candidates and scoring tests to ensure that we only send the best people to Parliament to possibly fill cabinet positions.

"We didn't seek to only find prominent candidates but to find people who possess the necessary qualifications and expertise to tackle our most pressing issues."

Mashaba also vowed to reduce the number of national government departments to approximately 20 and eliminate the position of deputy minister in all departments. 

“We would reduce the benefits ministers receive, including excessive catering and travel allowances, slash the budget for VIP protection, and ensure that ministers are always transparent to the South African people about the actions they take.

“At a time of fiscal constraint and a cost-of-living crisis ravaging our nation, the perks of ministers should be slashed before any other budgetary cuts. Leaders must set an example for fiscal responsibility.

“This will save the South African government hundreds of millions in expenditure, which can be reprioritised to frontline service delivery.”

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