South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has withdrawn controversial perks for cabinet ministers and their deputies that saw their homes supplied with free electricity and water.
The benefits caused a public outcry as they were considered insensitive at a time South Africans are struggling with daily power cuts and rising cost of living.
In a press briefing on Monday evening, a spokesman said the president “acknowledges and appreciates the public sentiments on the matter”.
The ministerial handbook, which outlines ministerial benefits, will be “aligned to the realities that many South Africans face”, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said.
He said the intention behind the perks was “not a nefarious one”.
“The intention was to try and find some form of balance between what ministers could afford versus some of the costs that they have,” he is quoted as saying the by the state news agency.
Under the 2019 Executive Members Guide, also known as the Ministerial Handbook, ministers’ utility bills at their official residences are still covered by up to R5,000 per month.
President Ramaphosa’s cabinet has 28 ministers and 34 deputies. Ministers earn up to R2.4 million per year, while deputies can make R2 million annually.
In South Africa’s previous financial year, the country spent R1.3 million to provide cabinet members with generators, with an additional R680,000 spent between April and June 2022.
The ministers and deputies were provided generators despite their official residences in the Bryntirion Estate in Pretoria not getting load shed.
Aside from the utility bills, the Democratic Alliance has said Ramaphosa made several other extra allowances for ministerial staff that would cost taxpayers R87 million per year.