Ramaphosa gives South African ministers, MPs, traditional leaders, and judges a salary increase

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that public office bearers will receive salary increments of between 3.5% and 4%.

These increases will take effect from 1 April 2026 and follow the 3.8% and 4.1% increases announced in January 2026 that took effect in April 2025.

On Tuesday, 10 November 2026, the Presidency announced that Ramaphosa has determined the salary increases for public office bearers for the 2026/27 fiscal year.

“President Ramaphosa’s determination follows recommendations by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers,” the Presidency said.

It added that the President also considered the “serious economic challenges facing the country” in his final determination.

Based on these considerations, Ramaphosa settled on salary increases of 3.5% and 4% for different categories of public office-bearers.

The 3.5% increase will apply to Members of the National Executive and Members of the National Assembly. 

Permanent Delegates to the National Council of Provinces, Premiers, members of provincial executive councils, and members of provincial legislatures will also receive this increase.

The 4% adjustment will apply to judges of the Constitutional Court, judges of other courts, and magistrates.

Traditional leaders, members of the National and Provincial Houses of traditional and Khoi-San leaders, and members of independent constitutional institutions will also receive a 4% increase.

“President Ramaphosa thanks the Commission for its diligence and careful scrutiny in preparing its recommendations,” the Presidency said.

“He urges public office-bearers to uphold their mandates and honour the public trust and expectations associated with their varied responsibilities.”

The Presidency issued a similar statement on Tuesday, 20 January 2026, when Ramaphosa set the salary increments that took effect on 1 April 2025.

Note that the Presidency’s January statement mistakenly said “1 April 2026”. The Government Gazette notice published prior to this statement specified April 2025.

In January, the President determined that public office bearers would receive a salary increase of between 3.8% and 4.1% with effect from 1 April 2025.

South Africa’s public sector wage bill has stabilised in recent years after growing in absolute terms over the past decade.

Currently, employee compensation accounts for the largest share of the state’s non-interest expenditure, at 33.4% of the country’s budget.

The National Treasury’s 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement revealed that the average government employee earns R551,230.77 a year.

This puts South Africa’s 1.3 million civil servants in the top 5% of earners in the country.

It should be noted that the average salary is skewed by high earners within the public service, such as the President, ministers, provincial leaders, and director-generals.

It also excludes the salaries paid to CEOs of state-owned enterprises such as Eskom, Transnet, and Denel.