See The Millions Earned By Malema & Other Mps In Parliament
South Africa’s members of parliament (MPs) are responsible for making laws, overseeing the work of the executive and enabling public participation by providing a national forum for debating issues of concern.
In the 2024/25 financial year, parliament passed 28 bills, a marked difference from the 95 bills passed the previous year.
At the same time, president Cyril Ramaphosa approved a 3.8% pay increase for MPs, effective from 1 April 2025. While this date has passed, the increase is backdated, meaning MPs will receive the outstanding amount.
In this explainer, Africa Check looks at how much MPs earn and what they are paid to do.
- The lowest salary an MP in the national assembly or national council of provinces (NCOP) will earn in 2025/26 is R1,322,968. The highest is R3,284,911.
- Although MPs must be available to the people they represent, just over 30% of working days were allocated to constituency duties in 2025.
- However, committees – parliament’s “engine room” – are where much of the lawmaking and oversight work is done.
How pay is set
MPs receive annual salary increases based on the recommendations of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers.
For 2025/26, the commission recommended that all public office bearers receive a 4.1% increase, but Ramaphosa agreed to 3.8% for MPs.
- Ordinary MPs: ~R1.32 million/year (approx. R110,000/month before deductions).
- Committee Chairpersons: ~R1.74 million/year.
- Minority Party Leaders: ~R1.57 million/year.
- Senior Officials (Speaker/Chair of NCOP): Up to ~R3 million/year.
- Salary Structure: These figures are total packages, which include basic salary, travel allowances, and pension contributions.
- Increases: A 3.8% increase was approved for 2026.
- Deductions: After tax, pension, medical aid, and party levies, MPs report receiving around R50,000–R52,000 net per month
What MPs earn
What MPs are paid to do
- Make laws: debate and pass legislation that promotes constitutional values, social and economic justice, and responsive governance.
- Enable public participation: engage with communities and stakeholders to ensure that citizen views are reflected, particularly in legislation.
- Oversee the work of the executive: hold the cabinet accountable through reports, debates, and written and oral questions.
Africa Check asked constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos about the drop in the number of bills passed in 2024/25. He said that he suspected the main reason might have been the formation of the government of national unity (GNU), “which has made it very difficult for the government to change its policies or adopt any new policies”.
“The GNU consists of political parties from across the political spectrum and never agreed to a clear set of policies, only a vague set of principles.”
De Vos directed Africa Check to clause 19 of the multiparty coalition agreement signed by Ramaphosa, which deals with “sufficient consensus”.
In effect, “the Democratic Alliance and the African National Congress have to agree to the tabling of any new bills”. This agreement was not legally enforceable, De Vos said, but did reflect a broader reality, namely that without ANC and DA support, parliament would not be able to pass bills opposed by opposition parties.
“The problem was illustrated with the difficulties in passing the [2025/26] budget, which the DA initially did not support. It forced the minister of finance to redo the budget.”
The benefits
South Africa’s MPs are provided with “facilities” to enable them to perform their duties, parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo told Africa Check.
“These facilities are regulated, capped, and subject to strict use conditions,” he said.
